


Twin Suns

by RoseThorn14



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adorable Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Dyad in the force, Ew, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Visions, Found Family, Gen, Genocide, I am just giving Force Ghosts more power than they usually have, Improper Use of Force Ghosts, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Infanticide, Its Star Wars, Its not anything dirty I swear, Its not the one in the RoS, Jakku, M/M, Mandalorian Culture, Mando struggles, May the Force Be With You, Multi, Slow Burn, That's Not How The Force Works, The Mandalorian adopts Rey, There is only the Force, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Vomiting, but hes trying, get your mind out of the gutter, good dad Mandalorian, i cant believe thats a tag, like a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:22:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 86,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22436341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseThorn14/pseuds/RoseThorn14
Summary: A few days after the fight on Nevarro, Mando takes refuge on a planet called Jakku to hopefully fix his ever-breaking-down ship.The little girl they meet there is very helpful, despit being only twelve, and the Child seems to have never been happier than when he's playing with her.But Mando has a bad feeling about this place, and like always, he's proven right.How did his life get so weird?-----A Mando adopts Rey story. Featuring confused father Mando, much force ghost buffoonery, and many, many sighs from Mando.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey & Luke Skywalker, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV) & Rey (Star Wars)
Comments: 213
Kudos: 997
Collections: Astral_Phoenix108's Library





	1. Mando makes a mistake (what's new?)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first Star Wars fic. I haven't seen anything like this, and wanted to try my hand at it. Updates may be patchy, but at the moment, I'm really motivated. 
> 
> Also, whatever crap I say about Mandalorian culture may be wrong. I've done my research but honestly there isn't very much and some of the Wookiepedia stuff conflicts with what I interpreted from the show. So, my knowledge is going to be very patchy, and twisted to serve canon. 
> 
> Also. I have not watched Clone Wars and will be referring to occurrences in it. Some instances may have not been shown. Everything I say is either from what I've watched, what I've read in blogs, my own headcanon, or from fanfic. I should be sticking pretty close to the events from the original trilogy, but I may twist stuff a bit to suit the story. 
> 
> Just a diclaimer. Feel free to point out if I got something wrong in the comments. I love learning more about Star Wars. But I might not fix it if I think its too important for the plot.
> 
> ALSO
> 
> I am PRO Jedi and the light side of the Force. A few chapters may not seem like that, but it is meant to show Rey trying to figure out what is true between all the conflicting and incorrect information that is out there.

Mando landed behind a dune, far enough away from the settlements in any direction that no one saw them land.

The planet was called Jaaku, according to the map on Mando's ship. He didn't really want to land here - still averse to desert planets after his experiences on the last two, but The Child needed to stretch his legs and Mando needed to patch up the Razor Crest. He always needed to patch up the Razor Crest.

The Child toddled around in the sand whilst Mando inspected the underside of his ship. He grimaced. They may have escaped Nevarro alive but the ship barely did. And Kuiil and IG-11 didn't.

Mando squeezed his eyes shut. No he couldn’t think of that. He had to keep moving. He took stock of what he needed and grabbed his credits, ready to head off. He glanced down at the Child, who was still amusing himself by rolling around in the sand.

"Do you want to stay on the ship or come with me?"

The Child looked up at him, unsteadily pushing himself onto his feet and walking slowly over to him and tugging at his boot. Mando sighed.

It would be a greater risk but he couldn't say that he didn't prefer having the Child at his side. He could never quite concentrate properly when he couldn't see that the Child was safe.

He went and got the cradle - another difficult decision since he had had to leave Kuiil's one on Nevarro and was now left with the uncomfortable box he originally had - but he didn't want the Child to get tired, and it shielded him from the blazing sun of this planet.

It was a trek to get to the junkyard but Mando would rather the trek than risk his ship getting profiled.

Once they hiked over the dune blocking their view of the market, Mando lifted the Child into the cradle, telling him (probably in vain) to keep quiet and not draw too much attention. The Child just looked at him with eyes too intelligent for its young figure, but did not nod. Mando huffed. He knew the Child understood him. He thought.

Nevertheless, the Child stayed beneath the shade of its Cradle, out of sight as Mando wandered through the tables of scraps, his nose wrinkling at the unfamiliar models and types. The tech seemed to have a distinct Imperial look to it.

The market, known as the Niima Outpost according to the computers aboard his ship, had both a permanent and temporary feel to it, like something that had been around a long time but was ready to be moved within a matter of minutes should they be scrutinised for any illegal activity. The collapsible tables were surrounded by sprawling tents as well as more permanent metal, stone and wooden shacks.

After half an hour of inspection, in which Mando thought he spotted about half of what he needed, but couldn't be sure, he decided to go to the information hut in the middle for some help. It would draw more attention, but he would be out of there faster.

Honestly, if he had enough money to waste, Mando would just by a new ship. The Razor Crest was difficult to fly, almost like you were arguing with the very engines of the ship, and it constantly needed repairs, a fact not helped by the lifestyle Mando led.

But, despite the numerous opportunities Mando had had over the years to get rid of it, Mando never had.

He justified it by the fact that the Razor Crest was still unrecognisable to both Imperial and Republic databases and the fact that its systems blended easily with all types of technology, but the true reason was that it had been one of the few sentimentalities he had allowed himself over the years. A familiar constant in his otherwise ever-changing life. Just like his armour. 

And, he supposed, the Child, now.

When he got around to the metal hut in the middle of the make-shift market, he was surprised to find the windows shut. Instead of a co-ordinator, a little girl was standing in front of the main window, a staff that was slightly too tall for her strapped to her back. She had a long cut on her arm and a bruise on her cheek, injuries that made Mando's gut twist. She couldn't have been much older than he was when he donned the helmet, maybe eleven or twelve.

When she noticed him approaching, she straightened her shoulders and raised her chin in a mimicry of authority.

"Hello," she greeted in Basic. "What can I do for you today?"

Mando glanced around. "Where is the…leader of this place?"

Most of the workers he'd seen here were either droids or scavengers, like the girl in front of him clearly was.

"Unkar Plutt left last night for some sought of business deal. He probably won't be back for a few days. I can help you with whatever questions you have. Unless you would prefer a droid?"

Mando shook his head. "No, it's alright."

The girl's sigh of relief was almost imperceptible but Mando had become an expert at reading people over his years as a Bounty Hunter. He had when dealing with people like Greef regularly.

Mando tried not to think about how her food probably hinged on how many customers she served now that her master wasn't there to evaluate her daily haul.

"What do you need?" the girl asked in a polite tone that Mando could tell was unpractised. That was fine. Mando wasn't used to polite anyway. He would almost prefer it if the girl was hostile.

Mando handed the girl his list. "I need all the items on here."

The girl looked down, squinting at the list for a long time before her shoulders slumped and she handed the list up to him.

"I'm sorry, can you please read it out to me? My Basic isn't very good."

Mando didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. He'd been worried that she hadn't been able to recognise any of the parts, but the fact that she just couldn't read the words wasn't much better.

"I can get you a droid if you want?"

"No, it's okay. I'll read the list out for you."

The girl frowned contemplatively as he recited his extensive list, nodding when he finished. She set off with a purpose, beckoning him to follow.

"We should have all that, but it may not be in the model you're used to."

"I noticed." Mando paused before he asked. "Where do you get all your supplies?"

"There's a whole bunch of broken down Imperial tech on this planet. The New Republic never bothered picking it up since it was the last battle of the war. Tourists sometimes come to look at the big ships and buy a few pieces of junk from us as souvenirs since everyone but us scavengers are too scared to get close to the stuff to actually strip them for parts."

Mando fell silent for a bit as the girl expertly weaved between the tables, grabbing pieces of tech and putting them into a cart that hovered along beside her.

He noticed that she was much younger than the other scavengers, who were all in their late teens, some of them greeted her as she passed whilst others scowled and spat insults in a language Mando didn't know. More often than not, the girl growled something back in the same language that had them falling silent.

Mando only spoke again when they wandered over to an unattended table.

"Why are you stuck with this job?"

The girl glanced back at him as she inspected the different pieces of equipment.

"You mean how was I lucky enough to get this job? I get a few days off from cleaning and I get the most food, which is why I'm currently public enemy number one to about half the kids here," the girl replied with a slightly triumphant smirk. "I know the most languages, and I have the best manners of any the others, or at least that's what Unkar thinks."

Mando smirked underneath his mask.

"What's your name?"

The girl hesitated. "Rey."

As soon as she said that, the kid decided to pop his head up, giggling.

Mand spun around trying to quickly but gently push him back down, but he just popped right back.

Mando sighed. "Come on, kid, we discussed this."

Rey smiled the first genuine smile since Mando met her and stepped forward. Mando's instincts screamed at him to push her back, but the Child and her were staring into each other's eyes with a deep sort of intensity that he only saw when the Child was using his power. Only, nothing was happening.

The Child leant forward, grabbing Rey's nose and causing the girl to laugh.

They continued to stare at each other as Rey reached out and pet his ear.

Mando felt his lips pull into a smile. It usually took at least a day for the Child to warm up to someone enough to actually reach out and touch them himself. He'd never seen him warm up to someone so quickly.

Mando was broken out of his reverie when he felt the back of his neck prickle. He looked around to find a few of the closest scavengers starting to notice them, glancing subtly at them as Rey and the Child continued to laugh and stare at each other. Not good.

Mando cleared his throat lightly and Rey jumped, leaping back from the Child and glancing down guiltily.

"Sorry," she murmured. "I don't know what came over me."

Mando waved her off. "It's okay. He's not usually so friendly."

Mando looked back at the cradle to find that the Child had retreated back into the shadows of the cradle, but Mando just knew that he was still staring at Rey. The girl seemed to know it too, glancing back at the cradle every few seconds as she riffled through the objects she had abandoned.

She handed him what he was looking for within the minute, despite her distraction.

"What were the last few things?" she asked.

Mando recited the last two items on his list, the last of which happened to be on the very outer rims of the yard, where the complete ships were parked. Mando raised his eyebrows at the two on the end of the lot, which all of the scavengers and mechanics seemed to be carefully avoiding.

"Where'd you get those?"

Rey glanced at the TIE fighters, which were much newer than the other ships in the lot.

"Unkar apparently trades for all his ships legally - that's the story he tells everyone at least, but I recon those were stolen from those Imperial fanatics that the New Republic can't seem to stamp out."

"None of you seem to be happy that they're here."

Rey shrugged. "Unkar thinks that they'll bring in a lot of money."

Mando tilted his head. "And what do you think?"

Rey flicked her eyes towards the ships, which she'd very obviously not looked at on the way over, a frown pulling at her lips for the first time since she'd seen the Child.

"I think that no good can come from those ships. They're either gonna get us in trouble with the New Republic or catch the attention of the Empire's remnants. I haven't been able to sleep properly since they got here."

Mando's gut twisted. He was starting to think he'd made a mistake coming here.

Rey made a small cheer of triumph and procured the last item from the pile.

"And that's the last of it. I got this one yesterday, it's the best one we've got and it should last a while."

Mando nodded his gratitude and surveyed his hall. He wanted to get off this planet as fast as possible but he'd need to install at least half of them for the Razor Crest to make it any proper distance.

It had been on its last legs as it was and the stray shots fired by those stormtroopers hadn't helped it. And now he was thinking about Kuiil again. Great.

"Will you need help installing the tech?"

Mando frowned. He would. He knew general repairs, but he was no specialised mechanic, and whilst most of the repairs were within his skillset, the unfamiliarity of the parts meant that he would probably either mess it up or puzzle over how to properly fit them in.

"You could hire one of our mechanics?"

"No." He wouldn't trust them as far as he could throw them.

Rey bit her lip.

"I know how to fix up ships pretty well."

Mando looked down at her. "You do?"

"Yeah. I spend all my time breaking open Imperial ships, I know exactly where all this stuff goes. Plus, I spent most of the last few years helping the mechanics out since I was too young for scavenging until a year ago. Besides, if you order me, you could probably get a better deal than if you hire out a normal mechanic."

"My ship is at least an hour's walk from here."

Rey winced. "I'll need to be back here before dark."

Mando paused, weighing up his options in his head. As he was mulling over them, the Child poked his head out from under the shade, smiling at Mando to signify his agreement.

Mando sighed. He'd get the silent treatment and the look of disapproval if he didn't agree.

"I'll move my ship closer."

\----

An hour and a half later, little Rey was inspecting his ship.

She climbed expertly around the ship, seemingly finding everything wrong with it in thirty minutes flat.

Mando had the weapons panelling down pact, but the girl roamed around the entire thing, fixing little bits here and there. Mando could almost hear its happy hum every time she finished one of her little jobs.

The Child followed her around, playing at her feet, and more than once he overheard her talking to the little guy, explaining what she was doing or chattering about her adventures through the broken Imperial ships. The Child basked in her attention, laughing and cooing at everything she said. He was even happier than when he was in the village on Sorgan.

The sun started setting two hours into their repairs, and Rey appeared at the door, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, but grinning, with the Child hanging off her boot.

"You were right," she informed him. "It will need another day of repairs. But I should be able to mend the hull and get the engines running smoother by tomorrow so you can be out of here by nightfall."

Mando nodded curtly, and Rey crouched down, picking the Child up and placing him in his cradle.

"I'll see you tomorrow, little one." She glanced over at Mando. "Good night."

\----

The next morning marked the first time that the Child woke him up.

Intellectually, Mando knew that he was virtually raising a toddler, but he had thought he was free from two of the horrors that plagued most parents: changing nappies and getting woken up at ungodly hours.

If he had to start doing more than helping lift the Child on and off the toilet seat, and ensuring he had cleaned himself properly (a task that had taken him aback when the Child had first led him to the toilet, but that he overall didn't mind doing), he was going to lose it. Mando didn't know the first thing about raising a child.

"What is it?" he snapped crankily.

He checked his chronometer and groaned as it told him that the sun had only just peaked over the horizon.

The Child shuffled over to the door, tapping it with his hand.

"She probably hasn't even had breakfast yet."

The Child tapped it again.

Mando tried to close his eyes and lay his head back down, but the child kept tapping, changing the rhythm just enough so that it couldn't lull him back to sleep. Mando held out for just over a minute.

The Child's tapping took on a distinctly digital sound.

Mando jerked up, seeing the Child bashing buttons one of the many exposed panels in the ship.

"Alright! Alright. I'm going. Just don't ruin anything!"

Mando rolled out of his bunk and opened the ramp.

"I'll get her back here quicker if you stay."

The Child looked up at him for a second before sitting down right next to the ramp, just far enough inside to not be crushed by the door when it closed. Mando rolled his eyes.

When Mando did find Rey, in between the maze of tents and huts surrounding the market, she was in trouble. He rounded a corner in time to see her wack an older boy around the head with her staff. He collapsed in a pile next to another body.

Rey spun around but was disarmed by a boy with a thin metal rod. He shoved her hard and she went sprawling into the dirt.

"Come on, Rey, apparently you're old enough to let a client ride you all day, why can't you let us get a piece?"

The disgust that bloomed in Mando's gut was mirrored in Rey's features.

"I was helping fix his ship you idiotic perve!"

The boy took another step forward to loom over Rey and fury, burning like molten lava, filled Mando's veins. Mando strode towards the pair, raising his blaster and having just enough restraint to miss the boy by mere millimetres.

The boy jumped back, clutching the back of his head, which had felt the burn of the blast and freezing when he saw the Mandalorian trudge up to him.

The Mandalorian stopped right in front of the boy, so close, the boy would be able to see his own reflection in the Mandalorian's helmet.

"I should kill you. It would be the honourable thing to do."

The boy's eyes widened and his mouth flapped open and closed.

"You're lucky I need to stay in your masters' good graces for at least another day. You better hope I don't see you again."

The boy nodded.

"Now go." The boy stumbled back, not fast enough for the Mandalorian's taste. He shot at the ground around his feet, scorching the boy's legs with the radiant heat. "I said go!"

The boy spun around a sprinted off, with a slight limp.

Mando growled squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath. He slowly counted to ten and then turned around offering his hand out to Rey, who was still on the ground.

The girl took it after only half a second's hesitation, picking up her staff on the way up.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

Rey shook her head. "I was just going to get it when…"

Mando inspected the damage she'd done. The two boys she'd taken out were still lying on the ground, limp.

"You've got a good hit on you."

"Uh… thanks?"

"Come on, let's go collect you're breakfast. You can eat it on the ship with the kid. He woke me up early to go get you."

Rey was silent as she collected her daily breakfast ration from the pudgy, blue non-human who seemed to be overseeing the market in its leaders absence. Mando, who decided to buy two sets of the overpriced rations so that the kid could eat with her.

She was silent on the walk over, clinging to her rations in one hand and her staff in the other. Mando made sure to keep a few paces away as they trekked across the dunes.

When they got back, he only stuck around long enough to make sure the kid wouldn’t choke on the bread by tearing it up into little pieces, and then disappeared into his bunk, pressing the button to close it off so it was little more than a bed and half a meter of standing room. He took his helmet off to try his own round of rations, knowing that Rey wouldn't be bold enough to disturb him and that the Child wouldn't either since he seemed to have a sixth sense for when Mando had his helmet off and never disturbed him when he did.

By the time he got back out, Rey had finished, her plates sitting cleaned on the small drying rack his sink had. The kid had moved to sit in the sand underneath the Razor Crest, watching Rey, who was crouching next to him, fixing something beneath the panelling.

Since this was pretty much the only thing that Mando could help her on that day, he decided to join her. Rey tensed slightly as Mando shuffled over to crouch next to her, but didn't move over.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, making quick progress.

"Thank you…for before."

Mando looked over at Rey, who was carefully avoiding his gaze.  


"Don't mention it."

Another few minutes of silence.

"If you don’t mind me asking…what's your name?"

Mando looked over at her again. "Haven't you heard of the Mandalorians?"

Rey blushed and looked away from her work, staring at his armour.

"I've heard stories and others around the market were talking, but I've never seen any pictures. Half of the scavengers don't believe in you. You guys are only slightly less of a legend than the Jedi."

Mando wrinkled his nose. "The Jedi aren't real, at least not anymore. They all died out."

Rey shrugged. "The stories say that a Jedi Master helped the Rebels win and that the New Republic is funding a new Jedi school."

Mando looked back at the wires he was replacing. "I wouldn't know. I try to avoid both the Republic and the remnants of the Empire."

Rey was quiet for a few moments. "You didn't answer my question."

Mando shrugged. "Everyone just calls me Mandalorian, or Mando."

Rey fell silent again but grinned a bit when the Child rolled into the sand at her feet, babbling nonsense.

They made quick work of the hull, welding it securely into place , and then Rey was climbing the ship with the fearlessness and the sure-footedness of a monkey-species.

Unable to help much at all, Mando decided that it was good a time as ever to practice low flying on his new jetpack. It had been some time since he'd undergone Rising Phoenix training after all.

Rey had incredible balance, despite the precarious purchases she was working on. She only slipped once throughout the entire afternoon, and Mando was there to steady her within an instant, grabbing her arm until she could regain her footing.

She finished both engines quite quickly, hopping down into the sand - a drop that made Mando's heart leap between the moment she leapt out of sight and the Child's delighted giggle.

Mando landed a few metres away from the children, both of which were sitting in the sand. Rey got to her feet on his arrival.

"I'm finished, Mandalorian," she told him, hand held behind her back.

"I'll go get your payment."

Mando took his time 'finding' his credits, letting the two say goodbye. As he passed his weapons closet, he hesitated, before he opened it and grabbed a long pole-like object.

When he got back out, he was greeted with a very strange scene.

Rey was sitting cross-legged in the sand, leaning down so her face was level with the Child's. Both of their eyes were closed and their foreheads were pressed against each other, with the Child resting his hands on Rey's temples.

They broke apart a few minutes later and Mando walked forward, gently tossing the payment into Rey's lap whilst she blinked blearily, looking around at everything as if she had suddenly found herself on a different planet.

Mando dropped the double pronged spear on the ground in front of the her.

"This is a replacement head for my Amban rifle. I'll help attach it to your spear and show you how to use it."

Rey stared uncomprehendingly at the weapon on the ground in front of her before looking up at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

With that, he turned and walked up the Razor Crest's ramp. A few second later, he heard the sound of someone scrambling in the sand and the clanging of the girl hurrying after him.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Rey told him as Mando pulled a retractable bench from the side of the ship.

"I can't leave you with just a stick to defend yourself."

Rey looked like she was about to protest again but was interrupted by a cooing. They both glanced down to find the Child tugging at Rey's pants and waving his hands in the air. Rey smiled slightly and picked him up, placing him on the table so he could watch what they were doing.

"Show me how you usually hold your staff."

The Mando inspected her grip and stance, nodding slightly. "Passable for street fighting."

He took the staff and attached the trigger to a spot near the upper centre of the staff. They grafted the rod on together and adjusted it so the weapon would have a sting, stun and kill mode.

He spent the afternoon going through some drills with her. Rey was easy to teach and had a great instinct for fighting, it was if she could sense his intentions with a few of the blows that she blocked.

By the time she the sky started to darken, both of them were exhausted. Rey reluctantly packed up her things, though Mando made sure to slip a few flavoured nutrition bars in her small tool kit. He had been less than impressed by her rehydrated bread and powdered soup. He trusted that she was smart enough to save them.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," the girl said, smiling sadly at both of them.

Mando inclined his head forward. "It is."

Before she turned away, Rey told him, "Thank you… for everything. I'll never forget you two."

As Mando was getting ready to leave, the Child started fussing. No, it was more than fussing, he was having a full blown tantrum, an event that Mando was completely unprepared for.

The Child sat down in the sand and refused to move, squirming away every time Mando tried to pick him up. He kept making whining sounds and squealing angrily at him.

"I know what this is about," Mando sighed after the third time he tried and failed to pick the Child up. "We can't kidnap a little girl."

The Child blinked up at him.

"That was different and you know it."

Mando bent down once again. "We have to leave."

The Child squirmed away once again, kicking sand up into Mando's helmet.

"What do you want?"

The Child lay down with a huff.

Mando sighed. "Fine… we can stay the night. I'll let you have breakfast in the morning. But we're definitely leaving tomorrow.

As it turned out, they wouldn't have to delay their departure as long as Mando expected.

He was woken in the middle of the night by the familiar hum of ships entering the atmosphere.

He looked out the Razor Crest's window and saw to TIE fighters land near the market.

The Imperial freighter that followed quickly after had Mando backing away a few steps, and the distant explosions and screaming that could be heard motivated him to move faster.

He threw himself out of the cock pit, skidding to a stop in front of his weapons cabinet, grabbing blasters, his vibroblades and his Amban rifle. As he turned to leave, he spared half a glance at the Child, who had gotten out of his cubby and was standing in the middle of the floor.

"Stay here, I'm going to go rescue her and get rid of the scum."

Mando opened the door and pointed a finger at the Child.

"I meant it. Stay here."


	2. How the hell do they keep multiplying?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did the Child do to Rey?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you for the comments!! I always appreaciate them and they make my day!

To say that this is the happiest Rey could ever remember being would not be an understatement.

This had also, incidentally been the strangest day of her life. Not because she had realised she was working for a Mandalorian, or because of the weird kid that was literally the most adorably thing she'd ever seen, but because of those few minutes that had occurred when the Mandalorian had gone to collect her money.

Rey had sat down in the sand and leaned forward to possibly hug the child, but had been stopped when he had pressed his forehead against hers. She couldn't tell how long they were in that position, but the strangest thing had happened whilst she did. It had been like the kid had reached into her mind and just opened doors that had previously been closed. Rey did not often have time for introspection, but suddenly what was previously a greyish mist opened and expanded into a vast desert, a ruined ship in the distance, her tent a few metres away from her and the Mandalorian's ship right next to her. The image had been fuzzy at first, but the longer the child walked through her mind, the clearer everything became. She could _feel_ the flow of energy through her.

When the Child finally released her, it was like she was looking upon a new world.

She had always been aware that every living thing had a different sought of brightness about them and suspected that not everyone around her was aware of that fact. She had never discussed it with anyone, being too young with her parents, and not close enough to anyone once she had matured enough to actually describe her experience properly. 

Now, however, she could not only sense this brightness, this life force, like a secondary filter over the real world she was seeing, instead of a vague instinct in the back of her mind, she could _feel_ the energy flowing through everything. Literally, everything. She could sense the thrum at the centre of the planet.

Her eyes landed on the Child and her heart leapt. Even before, the child had been positively captivating, which was part of the reason she was so drawn to him. But, now? He _shone._ He was like the only star in a sea of darkness a million light years wide.

As she looked at him, awe washing over her, she heard the Child giggle and sensed his ripples of joy and elation and _welcome_ wash over her. The tinkle of coins dropping into her lap jolted her out of her reverie a bit, and Rey blinked rapidly, still looking around, but trying to adjust to her new vision. The thud of the weapon in front of her helped ground her even more, and as she looked up at the Mandalorian, her world sharpened.

She could still see the energies as clearly as before (and the Mandalorian had an interesting one, not as blindingly powerful as the Child's, but mysterious in the way that it was dangerous, yet protective and comforting at the same time - his energy glinted more like a perfectly polished mirror, rather than glowing like the Child's did), but her brain finally adjusted so the sense didn't overwhelm her. She could see like normal and she could see the lights, like a sought of double vision that her brain automatically processed. She had trouble putting it into words in her head.

The afternoon was full of a lot of new experiences for her. On top of receiving a new weapon and her first proper combat lesson that wasn't a life or death situation, Rey also learnt that she'd developed a new sense, an instinct that sometimes gave her flashes of insight into the Mandalorian's next move, despite the fact that he almost never telegraphed his intentions when fighting.

She was sad to leave that evening, no doubt, but not as devastated as she had been that afternoon.

She was able to feel the Child's presence in her mind the whole time. It wasn't invasive, more like a warm hug and a distant, comforting awareness that there was someone there for her.

The connection did not weaken as she walked back, though it was less intense.

She was aware of his calm, reassuring presence as she took down four older scavengers who tried to jump her for her evening meal, and though she was the only one in her tent, she felt less lonely than she had in seven long years.

\----

Rey was woken in the middle of the night by loud explosions.

She jerked onto her feet, her staff already in her hands. She had to crouch to keep from knocking her tent over.

Flashes of gunfire had her flinching back.

When the sound of boots got closer, Rey decided it was time to scram.

She dived out of the tent, directly in front of a stormtrooper. Rey spared a thought to silently curse Unkar. She knew those TIE fighters would come back to bite them in the ass.

Rey pushed down her fear, and a scream, as she got to her feet at the same time the trooper raised their gun.

Her reflexes were half a fraction faster than her opponent's, or maybe she was more prepared to roll into danger than the trooper was prepared for a tiny girl to come tumbling out of a seemingly empty tent. Nevertheless, in that instance, Rey moved half a second faster than the man in front of her.

She pulled the butt of her spear up, hitting the gun hard enough to knock it out of their hand.

The drills Mando had put her through what seemed like a thousand times that afternoon kicked in, and Rey automatically flicked the spear around, stabbing up at the chink between the trooper's breastplate and helmet, catching them in the neck and shocking them. They dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Rey crept away, making sure to switch the settings on her spear from stun to kill. (She knew she should skewer the stormtrooper she had knocked out, but couldn't quite stomach the thought of killing an unconscious, defenceless opponent.)

She made her way towards one of the metal living huts that were built into the ground. On her way, she took down three more troopers, getting the drop on them mostly due to the fact that they didn't seem to think she was a threat, and because of those weird new instincts she'd acquired that afternoon.

She skidded to a stop in front of the first metal hut she could find, putting her hand on its door.

"Freeze."

Rey stopped in her tracks.

"Turn around and drop the… spear?" the masculine voice ordered uncertainly.

Rey heard the hum of a blaster engaging and made the executive decision to do as she was told.

"Wait. How old are you?" the trooper asked.

"Twelve."

The stormtrooper visibly hesitated. Oh gods, she was about to be killed by a newbie.

From out of both of their lines of sight but not too far away, she heard a voice clearly yell, "Move it, move it, move it! The General wants _no_ signs of life left."

The Stormtrooper readjusted his grip on his weapon and audibly swallowed.

"I'm sorry," he told her and the hum of his weapon got louder.

Panic shot through Rey. She did not want to be shot on what had previously been the best day of her life. That would put a damper on things.

Both of them flinched as the stormtrooper pulled the trigger. The sound of the blaster rung though her ears. But nothing followed. There was no pain, no falling and no death.

Rey opened her eyes, glancing to the side to see the blackened circle on the metal hut.

The stormtrooper and Rey stared at each other, the same thought process going through their minds. He should have hit her. It was almost impossible that he'd missed her. He was barely five metres away!

Rey recovered before the stormtrooper, reaching down, scooping up her spear, activating it and launching it at him. The spear caught him near the neck and the stormtrooper convulsed for a couple of moments before falling to the ground, dead.

Rey stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. What. The. Fuck.

A blaster shot and a scream shook Rey from her stupor and she took the time to run forward and pull her spear from the stormtrooper before she practically launched herself into the hut. She landed hard on the floor of the hut but ignored the pain that laced up her side in favour of pulling the door above her shut.

With that, she crouched down, ready to pounce at anyone who opened the door.

Despite being built into the ground, the hut didn't offer much more room than her tent had, barely enough room for an adult to stand and just enough for two to sleep in, which, from the double bed roll, is exactly what it had been used for. Rey wondered of the owners were still alive. She doubted it.

As worries circled through Rey's head that this hut - which she had hoped would be her hiding place, would become her grave, with nowhere to run when someone eventually opened it - screams and blasts echoed around her. Abruptly, Rey's new gifts became a curse as she felt the fear and anger and _pain_ swirl around her. The screams echoed in her ears and the terror echoed in her heart until she couldn't tell what was hers and what was others'.

Waves of emotions from both the stormtroopers and the residents of the Niima Outpost crashed against her, and Rey fell to her knees, pressing her hands against her ears and supressing a scream. She could feel the familiar lights of those she had lived with being snuffed out.

Her head pounded and her ears rang and she barely registered it when the screams dimmed, but the lights continued to go out. Her stomach turned. She felt sick. Her fingers dug into her head and Rey groaned.

Suddenly, the door above her banged open. Rey snapped her head up.

She gasped when she saw the Mandalorian standing over her.

"You're alive," he breathed.

The nod Rey gave intensified her dizziness.

Mando held his out to her. "Come on. Don't forget your spear."

Rey grabbed her weapon in one hand and Mando's arm in the other. He hoisted her up and out of the shelter, pulling her into a tight, protective, one-armed hug, a blaster in his other hand as he surveyed around them.

Rey became aware of a very familiar sun approaching her and she turned her head to the right a few seconds before the Mandalorian did and watched as the Child walked up to them. Immediately, her headache began to ease as the energy from the Child seemed to muffle the despair closing in on all sides around her. Rey sagged a little bit in relief.

Mando gave an aggravated sigh.

"I told you to stay on the ship."

The Child closed his eyes and raised his hand. Rey felt him shift some sought of energy behind her, and at same time the Child's presence in her mind showed her the concentration he was using and the strain it was causing him. There was a thudding sound behind them that caused both Mando and Rey to spin around.

A stormtrooper was raised a few inches in the air, hands at his throat grasping at invisible fingers, his blaster on the ground in front of him.

Mando shot the trooper, letting out another sigh as he looked at the Child, who spared half a second to blink condescendingly at him before turning his attention to Rey. The presence in her mind prodded questioningly and Rey could almost picture what he was saying. _Do you understand how it is done?_

Rey was dimly aware that she had projected confusion across whatever link was connecting them when a warning shot through her body.

Her head snapped to the right and she instinctively threw her arm up, the movement sending out a wave of energy that felt similar to the one the Child used. Her wild flail knocked the trooper that had been creeping around the hut onto his back. Mando shot the trooper before they even had a chance to think about getting up.

Rey stared at her hand while the Child squealed approvingly. Kriffing hell.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mando drop his head into his free hand.

"Oh, shab, now I have another one."

He took a deep breath and straightened his back.

"Alright, let's go. We need to leave before anyone else comes looking."

The Mandalorian scooped the Child up in one arm and started walking off in the direction of his ship. He stopped after a few steps when he realised Rey wasn't following.

"Look, kid, we really need to leave."

Rey shook her head. "I can't go."

The Mandalorian stilled. "Your master's not here. He'll probably thing you're dead so he won't come looking for you, and if he does, I am more than equipped to deal with whatever he sends your way."

Rey hugged her spear to her chest. "I'm not scared of Unkar. He learnt long ago that the only reason he can properly control me is because he has the only supply of food at the Outpost."

The Mandalorian tilted his head to the side. "Are you scared… of me?"

Rey's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, definitely not. You're like the safest person to be around."

"Then what is it?" the Mandalorian huffed. In his arms, the Child blinked.

Rey glanced down. "I'm… waiting for my parents. They said they would come back."

The Mandalorian stepped back towards her, sheathing his blaster so he could lay a hand on her shoulder as he crouched down to her height.

"Look, Rey. You can _not_ stay here. There is no one left. Those that weren't killed have fled to other settlements. Plutt isn't here to protect you and its more than likely the Empire will come sniffing around here again. You _have_ to come with us if you want to survive."

Rey stared up at him, processing her words, the rational part of her mind registering them. Rey felt tears prick at her eyes but she nodded numbly.

The Mandalorian straightened. "Good. Now come on. And stay on guard. I think I got them all but you never know."

Rey couldn't sense any lights. "You did."

Mando shifted a little but otherwise didn't comment on her certainty.

The Child cooed and babbled happily at her as they climbed up the sand dune, sending her waves of happiness and joy and generally letting her know how happy he was that she was coming with them. It made her smile a little. However, eventually, the Child tired and they were left in silence.

When they were only a few minutes out, the Mandalorian glanced over at her.

"I can help you find your parents once we get off world if you want."

This time Rey couldn't hold back the tears. "You won't be able to. They left seven years ago. I don't remember anything about them. I don't even know my last name."

Mando fell quiet again, letting Rey sob, his quiet looming presence oddly grounding. She was able to compose herself by the time she got back to the ship. The Mandalorian put the baby in a floating crib and pressed a button in the and a compartment opened up just above Rey's head with a few rungs leading up to it.

"You can sleep here. The Child has the cubby under yours."

Rey smiled tightly. "Thank you, but I don't think I can sleep."

The screams were still ringing around her head and the energy around her still echoed painfully with terror.

The Mandalorian paused, then shrugged. "Fair enough, you can come up to the cock pit with me. Just don't touch anything."

He took the crib with him as he ascended and Rey followed behind him, perking up a little at the chance to see a ship in action. She had only ever been allowed to look in on the test drives the mechanics did.

She slumped into the co-pilots chair, feeling suddenly very drained. The many conflicting emotions she'd experienced in such a short time seemed to suck the energy from her body. Nevertheless, she watched intently as the Mandalorian raised the ship into space, committing every detail to memory, just like she did every other time she was on a ship.

Just as she started to drift off, the whirring of the ship lulling her into drowsiness, Mando said something.

"Huh?" Rey asked, rubbing her eyes.

"My name is Din Djarin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? How do you guys like it so far? Do you see potential?
> 
> Like I mentioned up top, comments are always welcome. Speak your mind. Tell me if I comitted any greivous fandom sin.


	3. Step 2 of Mando's journey to adopting a magical scavenger (Step 1 was kidnap)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god guys, thank you for your support! I love reading your comments!

"So you're telling me, you didn't know you could do all that magic stuff until yesterday?"

Mando had landed on a small forest planet many lightyears away from Jakku. There was no obvious reason for them to land there. The small town he had parked a few kilometres away from wasn't even registered on the Razor Crest's maps. 

Luckily for Mando, it was dark when he landed, and his chronometer told him that the sun had just gone down. He'd carried Rey down from the cockpit and lifted her in the cubby above the one he had given to the Child as carefully as possible. Her section was slightly bigger than the Child's, since Mando had given her what was traditionally the co-pilot's courters (Mando's were the largest and the only one that allowed you to walk whilst the cover was up since he had taken the pilot's bunk) letting her sleep horizontally against the ship's outer wall with some space on either side of her body as well as kneel comfortably in the space without hitting her head. 

He'd also dragged the Child's crib down to the main hanger, and then, finally gotten to sleep himself, leaving his bunk open so he was essentially sleeping on a metal bench with a think pad which folded out of the ship's side. He liked being within an arm's reach of the Child. 

Despite being the last to go to sleep he had been the first to wake up, which was not really a surprise since the Child was always exhausted after he used his powers and he hadn't expected it to be any different for Rey. He had engaged ground safety protocols and gone over to the town to grab three servings of bone broth and grain bars for their breakfast as well as a loaf of bread and some cheese and meat for their lunch. 

He'd managed to consume his food and replace his helmet by the time the children woke up, which was, curiousl,y simultaneously. 

Now, all three of them were sitting just outside the ship on crates Mando had dragged down the ramp. Mando started his questioning as he handed out the food. He wanted answers. 

Rey had been happy to oblige, explaining her perspective of the previous day's events.

Rey shrugged. "I think the Child did something to… open my mind? All I know is one minute I was leaning in for a hug, the next I could literally feel the flow of energy around me."

Rey took a sip of the broth and moaned. 

Both Mando and the Child stared at her. Rey blushed, glancing down.

"Sorry. It's really good."

Mando frowned. It was a pretty standard bone broth. He'd had many that were better. 

Rey's blush intensified and she ducked her head as the silence continued to stretch on.

"Can you feel that… energy now?" Mando asked, deciding to take pity on her. 

Rey nodded and smiled a little. "There's so much more life here than there was on Jakku. I didn't know that a planet could be so vibrant."

The Child squealed happily at that and Rey grinned at him. 

"Do you have anywhere you want to go? Any particular planet you'd like to live on?"

Rey shook her head slowly. "I don't know anywhere."

Rey kept her eyes trained on her broth, which she had been savouring by taking small sips. 

"I've always just wanted to travel the galaxy on a ship," she admitted.

Mando pursed his lips. It wouldn't be safe for her to come with him. His life was too dangerous. He was running from the remnants of the Empire and searching for a possibly dangerous race of sorcerers. And he would need to take another bounty or job if he wanted to survive. It was bad enough he was bringing the Child with him. But he couldn't just dump Rey on some random planet. He knew just how much kids needed the security of a protector at that age. 

Mando looked deeply into Rey's eyes, as much as he could do with a mask on. He was presented with two equally bad choices, and the little girl was mature beyond her years. He trusted her to decide. 

"Travelling with us will be dangerous. There will be times when we are attacked, and I cannot guarantee that you will not have to kill. In fact, you probably will have to in order to survive. I can promise that I will do my best to protect you, but I also have another charge to consider. Know this and think about it. And, if you still decide to stay, I will allow you to until we stumble on a suitable place where you will be cared for and protected."

Rey pressed her lips together and was silent for a few moments, slowly sipping her broth, whilst taking alternate bites with her grain bar. Mando turned his attention to the Child, who was watching Rey as he sipped from his small cup. He wondered if they were having one of those mental conversations that Rey had described. 

"What are you doing?" the girl asked eventually, taking a break from her food to look at him. 

Mando tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean?"

Rey cut a glance at the Child before fixing her gaze back on Mando.

"You have a task that you need to do. What is it?"

Mando huffed. Of course she knew.

"I have been charged with returning the Child to his race so that he can be trained. His powers are too dangerous and he's being hunted by too many people for him to go on without his skills being honed by a professional."

"I can't believe you haven't named him yet," Rey snorted. 

Mando raised his eyebrow. "You're the one that can speak to him in your head. You ask him what he wants to be called."

Rey tilted her head to the side, scrunching her nose. "He doesn't really speak to me in words so much as I can sense his feelings and intentions. Our link is getting stronger, though. We might be able to actually speak in a little while. I think it's just hard because he doesn't really understand Basic. He's learning. But his thoughts arrange themselves in a different language than I know."

"He knows a language?"

Rey shrugged. "Well, yeah. I think it might be his species' one. I can't really tell. He's trying to show me some of his memories but they're all fuzzy, like they were from a long time ago. But the way he thinks is in chirps, whistles, coos and clicks. Kind of like droidspeak. I'm sure I can learn it in time."

Mando raised his chin slightly. He hadn't thought of that.

Rey glanced down at her soup before her eyes flickered up towards him nervously. 

"You really think his powers are dangerous?"

"Yes. Don't you after what you saw yesterday? From what I've witnessed, they could be devastating if he doesn't learn proper control."

They could be even worse than what he's seen if the stories are true. Growing up on Mandalore (before it was destroyed when he was barely an adult in one last ditch effort by the Empire to wipe out a prominent fighting force before they themselves were completely destroyed by the Rebellion. Never mind that the Mandalorians had remained neutral ever since they had withdrawn their support from the empire), he heard stories about his people's historical struggle against the Jedi, and how their mind tricks could affect someone. Even worse were the stories of the damage Dark side users like the Sith could do to a person by just rooting around in their mind. Some of the few time his people had worked with the Jedi had been to combat Sith.

Rey looked up at him. "If you're looking for his people, who could train him, shouldn't I stick with you? Maybe they could train me as well! I'm learning their language after all."

Mando frowned. He hadn't considered the fact that he would need to find a teacher for Rey as well. He hadn't really properly processed that he'd landed himself with two potential Jedi. 

After not receiving an immediate reply, the girl in front of him deflated slightly. "Please… Din. Am I allowed to call you Din?"

Mando stilled, hesitating for a few seconds before nodding. No one besides the Armourer had called him that in years, but what else would the girl call him? Mando seemed a little impersonal for someone he would be living with.

Rey smiled a little, but her eyes still shone with worry. "Can I please go on your ship? I need to. I don't think I can imagine being away from… him."

Mando sighed. This was not how he had planned this conversation to go. Still, there was only one realistic answer that he was ever going to give to that question.

"Of course. I was the one who offered."

He hoped this wouldn't end up hurting her.

\----

Mando decided to get a few more hours of rest since he would need a lot of energy for the next flight. 

When he came back out of his bunk, he was treated to what he guessed was some weird game of hide and seek. Weird because their hiding didn't seem to be effective. At all. They were always able to find each other, even when they were hidden in seemingly impossible places. At one point, Rey had hidden inside the actual engine but the Child just toddled straight out and screeched up at her till she came out. And the Child hid in a compartment of the ship that Mando didn't even know was there, but Rey tapped on it immediately, despite being outside when the Child hid there.

Both of these occurrences happened in under five minutes. 

Mando shook his head and decided to head out to do a serious resupply, calling out to them to be careful. 

People gave him even stranger looks than the last time, but since Mando suspected this settlement wasn't entirely legal, what with all the illicit pre-war contraband it held. He picked up a few packs of rations to buff out his supplies and stopped into the little entertainment shop at the edge of the town, picking up a few holo-toons that he thought the children might enjoy as well as a few book-chips for himself. He hesitated over an old datapad and a section of program-chips. 

"Are you alright, Mr - uh - Mandalorian?" the Rodian shopkeeper asked, his antennas twitching nervously. 

"Which one of these are the best?" Mando asked, keeping the hard edge in his voice that intimidated most people. 

\----

The children had moved onto a different game by the time he got back. They were sitting across from each other, floating a stone back and forth between them without physically touching it. 

"What's going on here?"

It just so happened that his question was timed as the stone was floating towards Rey and she glanced at him, obviously losing concentration and causing the stone to go tumbling to the ground. The Child gave an indignant squawk. 

Rey grinned slightly. "You said we needed to train. Besides we got bored of hide and seek. It was too repetitive."

Mando raised his eyebrows. "And that wasn't?"

Rey shrugged. "It took more concentration. We always know where the other is. It kind of defeats the purpose of hide and seek. At least this was a little challenging."

Mando smirked behind his mask. "If it's a challenge you want, why don't we get to more training after lunch?"

Rey's eyes widened. "Lunch?"

"It's not anything big. I was just going to make us some sandwiches."

When Rey just continued to stare at him with wide eyes, Mando leant his head to the side. 

"You have heard of lunch, right?"

He knew that those on hotter planets tended to avoid eating in the middle of the day.

Rey glanced down. "Sometimes Unkar ate in the middle of the day. But we're only ever given food after we've done work. We were only getting food at two times in the day because he was away."

Mando paused, felt the anger spark in his chest. Every time he learnt something new about her life, he got angrier at her caretakers.

Rey hunched her shoulders and for the first time, it occurred to Mando that she might be able to feel his anger. She'd said she'd been able to almost read other peoples' minds since the Child had opened hers. Mando closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing down his anger as he did. He wasn't used to having to supress or hide his emotions, the armour had always hidden them from the rest of the world. But maybe it was time to start employing those techniques about centering himself and not letting his emotions rule him in battle that one of the older Mandalorians had taught him. It was a technique designed by Duchess Satine, the pacifist Mandalorian. Rumour had it she'd learnt it from a Jedi. The enemy.

Mando had never put much stock in it before, preferring to use another technique which had him use his emotions to his advantage. However, maybe it was time for some change. He hadn't been aware of it at first, but the Child had taken to sending him calming thoughts when they were fighting, smoothing his anger and worry. The Child hadn't taken away his emotions, only diminished the once that threatened to cloud his focus. Maybe he should try and help him and look into those chip-books of old Mandalorian writings that had been gathering dust in one of his drawers. 

Rey relaxed as soon as he pushed his anger away, and Din worked to put a little bit of lightness into his voice. 

"I'll go get the food."

After an awkward lunch, all of them were ready to get into training. Even the Child could sense the tension. 

Rey hadn't forgotten much of what Mando had taught her the day before. Just a few of the stances that he knew would be hard to learn because it meant breaking old habits. The senses she'd told him about seemed to be getting sharper by the day. 

Mando went harder on her than he had yesterday now that knew she wouldn't just be facing untrained scavengers and the occasional smuggler anymore. She was about to face monsters no child should. But he didn't know what else to do. She was right before. The only option he had was to take her to the Child's people. 

They took a break at some point in the mid-afternoon to teach her about shooting blasters. She had a pretty natural talent for them, but she would need a lot of practice. He might even let her try with the Amban rifle one day. 

They resumed melee weaponry, with Mando using a spear of his own. When Rey's hit the dirt for the thirtieth time, her spear in Mando's hand, he checked the time, seeing that the sun has slipped below the tree tops enough that it was starting to get dim. 

Mando shifted both spears to one hand and held his hand down to Rey, who took it, and helped her to her feet. 

"Why don't you hit the fresher? I'm gonna catch a few more hours of sleep before we head off."

He glanced at the Child, who had spent the afternoon watching them, and addressed both of kids, "Enjoy the fresh air. We're going to be flying for a few days at the least before we make our next stop."

\----

Mando had just gotten comfortable when he hit his next obstacle. He'd already gotten them on course, which meant he didn't really need to drive the ship anymore, just stay awake in case anything major happened, so he put a chip of some old romcom action novel in his datapad - a guilty pleasure that he indulged in along with the occasional holodrama - when he heard it. 

There was a crash from the main area, which had Mando immediately jerking from his seat. His heart-rate sky-rocketed as he heard more bangs, and the distinctive sounds of someone choking. He practically threw himself down the ladder and froze at what he saw. 

The toilet door was open, a light streaming out of it. Rey was kneeling over the toilet bowl, quietly sobbing in between retches. 

Instincts had him moving forward after only a second's hesitation and then he was hovering by Rey's side, not touching her or crowding her, but close enough for her to know that he was there. 

When she finally seemed to have thrown up all the food that was in her stomach, Mando took half a step forward. 

"Do you want me to rub your back?" he asked. 

Rey seemed to think about it for a second, but shook her head. 

Mando backed away slightly, and Rey jerked her head towards them, her eyes wide. 

"Don't go, please," she begged him. She hadn't stopped crying. 

Mando nodded, sitting down on the floor next to her. It was cramped, but just big enough to fit them both. 

Rey leaned her head against her arm, sniffling. 

"Was it a nightmare or the food?" he asked, cursing himself for not thinking about it. 

He'd thought the stew he'd bought them for dinner as their last bit of fresh food for a few day would be fine. Unlike what he would usually choose, it had no really hot spices, just a bit of flavouring. However, he hadn't thought about what all the new food might do to Rey's system. 

"Both," Rey whispered.

Mando glanced around. Rey had done a good job getting all of her vomit in the toilet, so he didn't have to worry about cleanup. What to do now? 

Rey's hair was damp with sweat, and tears were still streaming down her face. She was pale. Too pale.

Fluids. He needed to replace her fluids.

"Are you done?"

Rey swallowed, but nodded. 

"Do you need help getting up?"

Another nod.

Mando grabbed her under the arms, making slow movements so she wouldn't startle. She leaned on him on the way to the little metal seats and table that he kept out on long trips. 

He gave her some water, and the blandest cracker he had, which she nibbled hollowly. 

Mando sat across from her, allowing the silence to stretch out before them for a few minutes before he broke it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Rey glanced at him, eyes wide. 

"I hear it…helps."

Rey took a deep, shaky breath. Her eyes, which had dried as she ate, went misty again.

"I felt them die," she told him, her voice cracking. "I didn't know them well. I knew I couldn't… I knew I couldn't trust any of them, but they were so scared."

Mando stared at her, not sure what to do. He decided to just let her talk.

"They picked them off one by one," Rey said, her eyes far away as she remembered it, her shoulders shaking. "It's not fair! They couldn't defend themselves. They begged for they're lives. They-"

Rey broke off, sobbing quietly. 

Mando reached across the table and rubbed her arm, but didn't come closer. He didn't think she'd want to be crowded. 

Rey paused her sobbing to take deep, heaving breaths. For a second, Mando was afraid she might throw up again with her chest moving in a jerky way that was reminiscent of gagging. However, the breathing seemed to help her calm down and soon the sobs subsided, but not the tears, which streamed steadily, like two small waterfalls, down her cheeks. 

"I can't stop seeing it, can't stop feeling it. The Child could distract me during the day. But, it hurts."

Rey squeezed her eyes shut, her face twisting as her shoulders shook. 

Around him, Mando felt the ship start to shudder. He jerked back, looking around him as his heart lurched. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. 

Mando looked back around to find the Child standing in front of Rey not touching her, just staring. No, he wasn't just staring. He was doing something across her 'bond'. Mando could almost feel the energy he was sending her. Or, he was imagining it and going crazy. And how the kriff had the Child even been able to get up there in the first place?

Either way, the ship stopped shaking when Rey's shoulders stopped, and her tears slowed. She met the Child's eyes, managing a small smile.

Mando let them stay like that whilst he went over to a small draw, withdrawing the old datapad and chips he had bought at the entertainment store. 

"If you need a distraction, how about this?"

Rey took the datapad, glancing at him questioningly. 

"The chips contain writing lesson programs for Basic. I thought you might want to learn."

Rey stared at him for a few seconds and Mando's confidence started to flag. 

"You don't have-"

Mando was cut off as the young girl sprung out of her chair, tackling him in a hug. He stilled for a few seconds before returning it. This was the first time she had initiated physical contact without being asked. 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Mando felt his chest lighten and knew that she was affecting him with her energy. His cheeks warmed in embarrassment. 

Rey flung herself back into her seat and slipped the chip marked with a one into the datapad, a wide, giddy grin on her face. 

Mando took a step back, murmuring an excuse as he retreated back to the cockpit. 

He sat heavily in his seat, leaning his head back against the head rest. The effect of the Child's presence had been subtle enough that he had not noticed it until the Armourer had suggested that he could be a Jedi. Now, with both of the young ones' warm, welcoming, joyful energies, Mando was having trouble not feeling it. 

He snuck back down with the cradle and shifted the Child to it so he would be more comfortable. He also left a soft pillow beside Rey and refilled her water. The girl was so engrossed in her program that she only glanced at him a gave a quick 'Thank you' as he set them down. 

Still, Mando could feel their contentment as he resumed his seat in the cockpit, staring out into space as his mind wandered to the future. 

He didn't know if he would be able to let them go if he needed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drum roll please!
> 
> I broke 10,000 words! Expect many more to come. I've barely scratched the surface of what I want to do.
> 
> I have a pretty solid plan for this story, but let me know how you think of it so far! As I said up top, I love reading your comments.


	4. Not quite bring your children to work day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Featuring: Clone Wars references and sibling bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all your comments. Hopefully this chapter has a bit more action than the last.

Rey tried to calm herself as they made their way into the shifty bar. Din had said that it was imperative that she look unconcerned.

They're trip had taken a week and a half and Rey had spent a lot of that time on her datapad, tearing through the reading programs. Din said she was making good process. She'd even started reading a few simple books that the programs had installed. Most of them had been about the heroic adventures of the Jedi knights and their clone army. She'd noticed that one in particular called Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared in many of them. That and Anakin Skywalker, but she didn't like him as much. He was too impulsive. No, General Kenobi matched uncannily with the person she had wished would rescue her all these years, the shining knight, who was calm and knew how to talk his way out of a fight, but was not afraid to protect what he loved.

Not that she was disappointed with Din. He was actually closer to her dreams than she thought possible. The only thing that would have been better was her parents actually coming back for her.

Din had also taught her two ways to approach fighting in between her patchy sleeping schedule and her hours of studying. The first was by using hers and others emotions to drive her movements and the second was seemingly the direct opposite, requiring oneself to be calm and perfectly in control. Din had confessed that the second one was particularly difficult for him and had taught Rey this breathing and centering technique that he called 'meditation' to help her with it.

Rey found both techniques to be equally effective for her, and she enjoyed meditating. It was hard, and as often as not, Rey found herself spiralling in her own thoughts instead of releasing herself into the calm state that Din had described. The Child often withdrew from her mind when she did this, so they could only feel each other's presence instead of every thought and emotion. Rey was grateful for that. It allowed her time to reflect on her life. Her worries, her fears and her pain.

This introspection had allowed her to come to the conclusion that her parents would probably not be looking for her. That they either did not care or were dead. She hated herself for hoping it was the latter.

It was a truth that she had known for a long time. One that had been thrown in her face many times by Unkar and the other scavengers. But she'd needed that hope to survive. It had kept her going as she woke up every day and worked to repay her debt to Unkar so she could be free, accepting half portions in return for the equivalent cost of the other half going towards her freedom.

She was free now. And the truth she had denied herself wasn't so hard to face now that she wasn't alone. Would never truly be alone ever again. A thought that should have been more daunting than it was.

Rey was glad that her meditation had been successful earlier when she inhaled deeply and was able to release most of her anxiety as she exhaled, arranging her face into the calm, detached smile she'd seen on the face of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the picture of him and his troop of clones that was in one of her books.

The bar quietened as they walked in but conversation didn't completely stop. Eyes tracked them as Din walked up to the bar where a Twi'lek woman was serving drinks, the Child hovering in his cradle and Rey following a step behind him.

The woman stopped as Din trudged up to the bar.

"Well, well, well," she began, putting her hands on her hips. "I've heard rumours of a Mandalorian in full beskar armour walking around with a baby, but I didn't know it would be you, and I didn't think you'd get another one so soon."

She grinned teasingly. "I knew only you could cause such a fuss."

Din ignored her, speaking in the hard-edged voice he had used when he had first talked to Rey, "Do you have any jobs?"

The woman eyed him seriously, eyes flickering between Rey and the Child, and pausing on both the blaster at her side and the spear on her back.

"I have one that I think you might be interested in. It's dangerous. Three bounty-hunters have already been killed going for it. But it pays well."

"What is it?"

The woman leaned forward. "About two weeks ago a few of the Free System senators came here: Tatooine's, Lamaredd's and a few others'. They got intel that Tana the Hutt was trying to set up a new slave business on Raken, a planet only about three days flight without hyperspace from here.

They’re willing to offer a lot of money if you bring him to the drop off alive so he can be tried. I saw the reward. They're willing to pay twenty thousand credits and about five and a half kilos of beskar."

Rey's eyes widened. That many credits would have more than payed off her debt to Unkar. And she truly didn't know what Din would do with so much beskar.

"Do you have a tracker, any details on what I might need to get around?"

The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a datastick.

"This has constantly updating information on it about his where abouts and who might be guarding her. They gave me a bunch of them. They're untraceable and self-destructing. So it can't lead back to the senators. You get it. Anyway, latest information says she'll be on Udar in two days, trying to make a land deal. That'll be one of the clearest shots you'll have at her."

Din nodded curtly and turned around, his cape billowing dramatically as he strode out of the room. Rey glanced back at she followed him and saw the Twi'lek woman roll her eyes, smirking good-naturedly.

\----

Rey ended up back in the bar two days later, sitting up at the bench and working on her datapad under the watchful eye of the Twi'lek woman, who she found out was called Alema.

Din had decided that it would be too dangerous to bring them to Udar, and Alema had been happy to host them for the night, as she apparently had a few rooms on the second floor. The woman hadn't even asked him to pay, citing 'the Bibfort Incident' as her reason.

Rey felt a twinge of restlessness at the back of her head and it took her a second to register that it wasn't coming from her. Rey put her stylus down - she had moved on to a few writing, exercises - and looked at the Child, who had lowered his ears in the way that signalled he was upset. Rey frowned. Din had only given them one datapad, but he'd given her a case full of different chips, some of which held holo-movies suitable for children.

Rey paused her program, saving her progress, and taking the chip out. She replaced it with a chip labelled Timi the Tauntaun. The Child perked up as the pale blues and stark whites of the animation flashed across the datapad and Rey felt the rush of excitement race across their bond filling her with giddiness.

Sorry I was hogging the datapad.

The Child did the mental equivalent of waving away her apology, literally batting the words aside as she thought them.

A surge of gratitude crashed into her, surrounding her like a hug and Rey smiled.

It was weird, having someone constantly in her head after being all alone for seven years. She couldn't hide anything from him, and sometimes it was hard to tell where her mind ended and his started.

However, his presence was comforting in a way Rey had never experienced before. It felt right, like slotting into a hole in her life she didn't know she had. She didn’t know how or why they had such an immediate and unbreakable bond, and neither did the Child, but now they were together, they were never going to part, at least not mentally. It was something they both just knew. No power in the universe, no amount of distance and no barrier, could sever their spirits from one another's.

"You're a good sister," Alema observed as she wiped down the bench. The bar was quiet, with only a few people calmly drinking at the tables. Probably since it was the mid-afternoon.

Rey gaped at her for a second, caught off guard by her observation.

Finally, she managed to get out. "Uh-he's not- He's not my brother."

Alema smirked and crossed her arms.

"You could have fooled me. How long have you been with the Mandalorian?"

"Just over a week."

The woman made a surprised humming noise in the back of her throat. "And he's already so attached?… I knew he was just a big softy under all that armour."

Alema set down a mug in front of her and smaller one next to the Child, who was sitting on the table, still transfixed by the holo-movie. Rey nodded her thanks and took a sip, moaning quietly as the warm, sweet liquid hit her tongue.

Alema let out a laugh. "I rarely get that good a reaction to what I serve."

Rey blushed.

Alema smiled warmly, glancing back at the datapad.

"I've never seen a child your age so engrossed in their studies."

Rey shrugged, choosing her words carefully as she didn't want to reveal too much. "I haven't had the opportunity to learn much of anything until recently. You tend to be appreciative of things when you don't have them for long enough."

Alema's lips pulled down before she forced her features back into a smile. "And what has the Mandalorian been teaching you?"

Rey took another sip of whatever was in her mug before answering.

"Reading and writing Basic mostly. It hasn't been too hard since I already know how to read Huttese. But he's also taught me a lot about fighting, melee, hand to hand and with a blaster. He even taught me a bit of Mando'a."

"Oh really?" Alema asked putting her hands on her hips. "It’s been a long time since I've the language of the Mandalorians. What have you learnt?"

Rey's back straightened as she prepared to recount what she'd learnt. She'd always strived in these sought of tests, whenever Unkar or one of the head droids would inspect her work cleaning and repairing parts, or her language skills.

"Well, I only know a few words. Tome means together. Adiik means child while ade is children. Ara'nov means defence. Kot means strength and vod means sibling or comrade. I know a few other words too-"

Alema chuckled. "No, that's alright. It's good to know some young ones are eager to be taught."

Her eyes rested on the blaster sitting in the thigh holster Dinn had provided her.

"You said the Mandalorian was teaching you how to shoot?"

Rey nodded.

Alema grinned. "Why don't you show me how good you are? I'm closing the bar down for a few hours anyway. We can head around back and set some of my empty bottles up."

Rey beamed at the woman, bouncing in her seat as she heard the child coo his approval, an image of Rey hitting the targets easily forming in her mind.

I don't think I'm quite that good yet.

\-----

Rey was right.

After she helped Alema clean up, the woman set up a few bottles around the back of her bar at different heights and distances.

At first, she missed more often than she hit them, but Alema showed her a few different grips and even taught her how to aim and shoot within a second. By the end of the afternoon, Alema had the bottles set out up in rough circle around her, having her spin around and shoot them as she was ordered to. The woman even threw a few bottles up for Rey to shoot in the air - she missed those ones the most, but felt no short amount of pride when most of the bottles ended up broken from her shots and not from hitting the ground.

When the two buckets of bottles ran out, Alema took a step back.

"Good work, girlie. Why don't you and your brother clean this up and I'll have your dinner and room ready by the time you get inside."

Rey nodded, and Alema handed her a broom and the Child a small brush before heading back in.

Rey got to work, sweeping up the glass as quickly as possible. After a week of living on actual food, Rey was actually starting to feel hungry before every meal, instead of stuffed to the brim. She brushed a pile of shards into a pan and put it into the bin.

She moved to the next only to find the debris disappearing from in front of her before she could sweep it up. She glanced up, feeing the Child use the force to move the glass just out of reach of her broom. She glowered at him.

Very funny. 

The Child giggled.

She attempted to sweep up the glass shards, only for them to be moved again. Her irritation spiked, and she made sure to push some of the emotion towards the Child, even though she knew he could already feel her displeasure.

Stop it. I'm hungry. I want to finish quickly. 

She clutched the broom tightly and went to sweep again, and yet again the glass was moved. She let out a growl of frustration, her head snapping towards the Child. However, her angry yell was stopped before she could even get it out as she saw the glass float upwards and into the bin.

Her anger dimmed and she glanced around, making sure no one could see before she dropped the broom, putting both her hands out in front of her to float a small pile of the glass up and into bin. She supposed this would be quicker.

She could feel the Child's smugness, and sent another spike of irritation towards him, which only resulted in another giggle.

She rolled her eyes.

\----

Alema watched the two children eat the marinated fish and vegetables she put in front of them. She felt a smile pull at her lips as they tucked in, glancing at each other in between bites.

Rey had obviously been frustrated when she'd trudged back in, both brushes in her hand and grumbling under her breath whilst her brother was giggling as he followed her in his cradle, though her temper had clearly abated a bit once she was presented with food.

Really, it was as if they were having a silent conversation, both of their expressions changing as they ate. Even now, Rey reached out and tugged lightly at the kid's ear in response to some imagined slight, which prompted the kid to pull at her flowy beige tunic in retaliation. They stared at each other intensely for a few seconds, before they both snickered quietly and turned back to their food.

Not siblings in deed.

She made sure to keep an eye on them as she served drinks. Half the reason was to make sure no lo-life was sidling up next to them and the other half was just because they were amusing. Maybe it said something about her, but she found herself smiling more with them around than she had in a long while. She felt lighter and even the bar being quieter (but not less crowded) than usual couldn't dampen her mood. It was good that they were less rowdy anyway.

Both children finished their meals at the same time and Rey picked both dishes up and put walked into the kitchen, no doubt the clean them up. Alema took a second to duck behind the bar and grab the mugs of warm hot chocolate she'd been keeping in the heat stasis chamber.

She handed them to Rey as she came out, giving the girl her warmest smile.

"Why don't you kids go up to your room now?"

Rey beamed at her, gushing her thanks before taking her brother up to the room Alema had prepared.

Noise slowly started to increase over the next three quarters of an hour or so and Alema got back into the groove of things, schmoozing people out of their drinks, watering down the alcohol she gave to the ones that were already drunk and keeping an eye on the women who drank with the men.

Everything was back to normal until it wasn’t.

The bar quietened again when eight unfamiliar droids and figures entered the bar. Unfamiliar people were rare. The freed slave colony usually had the same suppliers and didn't have much to offer in the way of tourism. Even the bounty hunters rarely varied.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Her hand found the spare blaster rifle she kept at the bar half a second before the fighting started.

\----

Mando was working on keeping hidden.

Tana the Hutt should be exposed towards the mid-afternoon and he didn't want to reveal himself too early. He was practically invisible in the tree next to the trail that lead to the landing bay. The children were safe. He knew that. Alema would make sure no harm would come them. She should be sending them off to sleep right about now. It was better that they weren't here.

Still, he couldn't help the churning in his gut that he knew had nothing to do with the mission.

He heard the hum of transport approaching and got ready, pulling his rifle into position. The group should contain six guards on speeders as well as a larger vehicle.

Three of the speeder guards and the driver of the vehicle were taken out before anyone knew what was wrong. The last three speeder pilots were shot down after they stopped to make sense of what had happened.

The Mandalorian dropped to the ground, shooting the first two guards that emerged from the transport vehicle.

He activated his grappling line at the next one, pulling him directly into the end of his rifle and activating the electricity. He strode towards the door, the butt of his weapon coming up to bash the head of the guard waiting for him. The last three were quickly dispatched; one with a shot from his rifle, the other with a vibroblade thrown into his eye and the last with an electrified poke.

The green-skinned Hutt froze as the gun was levelled at him.

"Don't move."

"Oh, please," the slimy, slug-like creature scoffed. "I know the bounty demands me alive."

The Mandalorian narrowed his eyes. "Yes, but it doesn't specify in what condition."

Tana's eyes widened at the threat. "Wait!"

It withdrew a holo-communicator from one of the pouches draped across its otherwise naked body.

"If you do not leave this planet I will order the assassins I have sent after your children to kill them."

Din stiffened, a bolt of panic slicing through his heart.

Tana smiled maliciously. "Ah, I see that I've got your attention. Now, if you leave me be, I just might let you have your children back… eventually."

Din fought back a full body flinch, his mind spiralling.

"Why should I believe you?"

Tana laughed. "I thought you might say that."

He pressed his communicator. "HK-54, where are my new slaves?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments are appreciated. What do you hope to see from this fic?
> 
> I'm watching Clone Wars and it's forcing me to keep adding characters to my plan. Its getting out of hand in the best way possible. 
> 
> Thank you for everything, everyone's so positive about this fic, but, if there's something you take issue with, please tell me. I welcome constructive criticism.


	5. A bunch of adults assassins get nerfed by literal children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the chapter title

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Thank you for your comments. I love them.

Rey set the already empty mugs down on a little table as they entered the room. There was one big bed that occupied most of the room and a small fresher through one of the doors.

She went to get washed up, shrieking in surprise when water fell on her face. Her shock quickly turned into delight and she laughed, taking more time than she perhaps should have as she relished the warm embrace.

She tried to dry herself as well as she could afterwards, but her hair still dripped water over the floor as she walked back in.

Rey grinned at the Child as she entered the room. He was sitting on the bed, right where she'd left him and was hovering some rocks in the air that they'd kept from their last planet.

Rey threw herself onto the bed beside him, sighing as she felt her body relax into the impossibly soft surface. She'd never slept on a mattress before, only having a blanket on Jakku, and a thin matt on board the Raiser Crest.

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax for a few seconds before sitting back up.

The Child prodded her mind with a question and Rey sent the mental version of a nod in his direction without actually physically moving.

I'm ready.

Rey closed her eyes, letting the energy flow through her, sensing the Child's energy controlling the stones. She reached out with her own, feeling the exhilarating spark as her energy brushed against the Child's in the physical world as well as their minds. There was a warm embrace as they both held up one of the stones for a few seconds before it was passed completely to Rey's control.

Rey frowned in concentration as they passed the five rocks between them. After about fifteen minutes, she felt herself tire, and a headache begin to throb at her temples. She lowered the two stones she was holding by herself, passing the other three completely to the Child's control, who dropped them onto the mattress, also tired.

They blinked at each other, the small glow of pride being shared across their bond. They both wouldn't have been able to hold that concentration for so long a few days ago, even if the Child could briefly perform great feats of strength. Really, he was the best thing that could have happened to her. He was teaching her so much, and just being near him made her powers stronger. She could tell from the way the energy always became easier to access and responded to her more quickly.

Rey shifted her legs in their cross-legged position, making sure she was comfortable before she closed her eyes again, clearing her mind to begin a meditation. She took several deep breaths, expelling her thoughts and emotions as she exhaled and just feeling the energy swirl in the world around her. She carefully expanded her awareness, not dwelling on the lifeforms in the town around her, and instead sensing the thrum of the core of the planet. She reached out, testing just how far her senses could go, a floaty feeling filling her limbs as she went beyond the limits of the atmosphere.

She stopped there for a moment, appreciating the thrum of energy and life mingling together.

Suddenly, something shifted, and Rey felt her awareness snap back into herself as the vision of two people smashing through the door of their room filled her mind. There was a crash to her left and Rey dimly registered something smash through the window, glass raining down on the bed. Then there was a blast and she saw a limp, smoking pile of brown canvas cloth and the cold tightness of chains on her wrists, digging into her skin. Panic and despair swirled through her, pressing against her mind and clenching her heart. The press of a blaster into the side of her head. She was going to die. She was going to die while Din was-

As quickly as it began, the vision stopped.

Rey jerked awake with a gasp, her arm flailing outwards to knock away a blaster that wasn't there.

The Child was staring at her, concerned confusion enveloping her. Rey brought up the images she had just seen, trying to order her thoughts as her eyes flitted quickly between the window and the door.

She jumped to her feet at the distinctive sound of many, many blasters firing downstairs. Her eyes darted about the room, a plan forming in her mind as she picked up her spear that was laying on the floor next to the bed.

She waited next to the door whilst the Child watched from the bed. When the Twi'lek kicked down the door, Rey was ready to meet him, smashing the gun out of his hands and sticking him with a killing shock of electricity. The human behind him took a step forward as his body dropped, catching Rey in the shoulder and sending her stumbling backwards. However, there was a surge of energy beside her and then the human was flying back, slamming into the wall of the hall and dropping to the ground, his head lolling at an unnatural angle.

Rey flinched as the light extinguished like a cord snapping.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and Rey spun around, bringing up her blaster and shooting the droid through the chest as it crashed through the window.

It was dead before it hit the ground.

She breathed heavily, leaning heavily mentally on the Child, wrapping herself up in his presence to reassure herself that both him and her were alive.

There was a burst of static from the droid and Rey tensed, but relaxed when she held the staticky voice of someone speaking over a commlink.

"HK-54, where are my new slaves?"

Rey crept towards the lifeless husk, detaching the commlink from the droid's waist.

The image of a huge, slimy slug hovered before her.

"HK-54, answer me! I'll have you melted!"

Rey smirked and activated the commlink. "I don't think they can hear you, sir."

"Who is this?"

"My name is Rey. I'm surprised you don't already know that. Is the Mandalorian there with you?"

Someone that couldn't be seen on the hologram asked, "Rey? Are you safe."

"Yes! We're fine. Those men weren't very tough and the droid got a blaster bolt to the head when it came through our window."

"Jate, Rey'ika. I didn't know you could shoot that well."

"Impossible! The human I tortured said they were children! One is meant to be a baby!"

Rey heard the very familiar sound Din sighing.

There was a squawk of pain and then the commlink was dropped. Only Tana's tail could be seen for a few seconds and then there was a thud and Rey saw Tana being thrown on the ground, cuffs connected by a strip of light keeping his arms painfully behind his back.

After that, Din picked the commlink up, his helmet coming into view.

"You're both okay right?"

"Yes," Rey replied, sitting down on the bed and shifting the commlink so that the Child could be seen in the view. "We both know how to take care of ourselves."

Din relaxed a little - only the week of nearly constantly being in his presence allowed Rey to read the slight release of tension in his shoulders.

There was a strained mewl and Din huffed.

"Wait just a minute."

The hologram image went blurry for several minutes and there was the slamming of doors and the distinctive dragging sounds of a Hutt being hauled around before it refocused to show Din in the driver's seat of a transport, Tana the Hutt in the seat next to him, a gag having been added to his restraints.

"You said you shot a droid? While it was moving?"

Rey perked up at the fact that he remembered.

"Yeah," she rubbed the back of her next. "You should really thank Alema for that. She put me through a lot of shooting drills this afternoon."

Din inclined his head in the way that showed he was pleased and Rey grinned.

The moment was broken as someone pounded up the stairs and barged into the room, everyone tensing until Alema's familiar blue-skinned figure appeared before them.

The woman glanced around at the three prone figures, her mouth dropping open as she slowly lowered her readied blaster and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"You're safe!" she exclaimed incredulously. "When I realised that two had gotten up here-"

"It's alright," Rey placated. "We dealt with it. Thanks for getting the others."

Alema smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, thank you," Din bit out gruffly over the comm. "I'll compensate you for your trouble."

Alema waved him away. "Don't worry about it. The excitement will be good advertisement for my bar. And I told you I would watch over them for free. They've been very well behaved."

Din nodded, an awkward pause following her statement.

"I guess I'll see you when I get back. Then we'll drop this slug off at Lamaredd."

Rey nodded and the Child cooed happily at that before saying goodbye and cutting the connection off.

Alema turned to them. "Now, why don't you two get settled in. A few guys in the bar will help me clean up the bodies."

\-----

Saying goodbye to Alema was painful. The woman gave her a big hug and the recipe for the drink as she saw her off. Rey could barely get out her own farewells, her eyes burning as Alema fielded another round of awkward thank yous and offers to pay her from Din.

She shooed them out of the bar with a fond pat on the Child's head and an order to stop in if they were ever in the quadrant.

And then they were on the Razor Crest.

Din had Tana chained up against the wall of the main room of the Razor Crest, still gagged.

Rey sat in the co-pilot seat as usual, watching intently as Din got ready for take-off.

He glanced over at her, hesitating, before he started quietly explaining what he was doing - the purposes of the switches he was flipping as well as how he was steering.

Once they were in space, they were silent for a few minutes, Rey eventually pulling the datapad out of her bag and loading one of the books on it whilst the Child played with his metal ball.

"I would prefer it if you stayed up here until we get to Lamaredd."

Rey glanced at Din, surprised that he'd broken the silence.

"I don't want you to be around the Hutt unsupervised. You can't trust him."

Rey bit back a comment about how the Hutt was pretty much as restrained as he could be and instead nodded, deciding to focus on the warm feeling in her chest that sparked at the fact that Din wanted to keep her safe. She turned back to her work, but couldn't concentrate for as long as she liked, putting the pad aside after only forty-five minutes of reading.

Her mind was spiralling with thoughts of the Hutt. Being from Niima Outpost, she knew much about the general history of the clan and their slaving past. She had experienced how their ways tainted a place, even after they were gone. The Hutts hadn't had control of Jakku for some time, yet people like Unkar still profited from slave labour, or 'indentured servitude' as he like to call it. As if the scavengers weren't forced to do as he said even after they 'earnt' their freedom. He controlled the only supply of food at the outpost and it wasn't like the people that landed there were the types to take on passengers, or even unskilled workers, out of the goodness of their heart. More often than not, the ones who got off planet had to basically resell themselves into slavery to do so.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut feeling a burning rage and revulsion at having one of those creatures so near. The Hutts were not poor by any means, even after losing so many planets since the fall of the Empire. Yet they still wanted more. They just took and took and other people suffered for it.

Rey clenched her hands into tight fists, the energy around her roiling silently as her entire body burned.

She had felt hatred before. She had hated Unkar at times and she had hated some of the scavengers, the older ones who would use every modicum of power they gained to cause pain to others. However, she hadn't experienced hatred like this before. This twisting, boiling, destructive emotion that rolled through her and eliminated every other thought or emotion.

She heard the Child whine in his crib behind her, a flash of pain and fear pricking at her mind.

Rey tensed and forced herself to release the breath she didn't know she had been holding, unclenching her fists and smoothing her palms against her thighs.

She sucked in another breath, sucking in some of the energy closer to her, letting it push up against her uncomfortably for a few seconds, before she breathed out, releasing her emotions with it, as if expelling a wave. It didn't completely work, but at least some of the tension leaked out of her body.

The Child was still distinctly projecting confusion and discomfort and his obvious negative reaction to her emotions shocked her enough to draw her out of her spiral of hatred.

Rey drew her legs up so that she was sitting cross-legged in her seat and continued to carefully control her breathing as she tried to slip into a meditative state.

It took a few tries but, eventually, Rey was able to connect with the energy around her, feeling the flow of it as they hurtled through space. Rey hadn't completely been able to let go of her hate before she fully sunk into her trance-like state. Usually, that would be fine, her irritation or anger melting away or simply interrupting her meditation until Rey gave up.

This time, however, her thoughts still circled around the Hutt currently restrained in their cargo room. What he had done. What she wanted to do to him.

Her presence was being pulled and shoved by the energy around her and suddenly she was being swept out to sea, pulled under by an invisible monster. It wasn't like back in the bar. No, that had felt like a wave crashing into her, surrounding her and compressing her, but she had still stood strong, knew who she was, confident in herself as a person. This time her feet were knocked out from under her and she slipped away, being shoved into violent images.

Tana sitting at a market under a luxurious canopy as slaves stood in unforgiving sun, stripped and humiliated. Tana ordering a little boy to be whipped because he had dropped a drink. Tana tearing children from their screaming parents.

All the time there was something inky and sticky hovering right near her, whispering.

_'Look at what he did. He deserves to die.'_

Rey was about to reply with agreement, rage reignited by the horrifying images filling her mind. However, there was a pinprick in her mind, a firm, questioning tug asking her what she was doing. Rey remembered herself and drew back from the thing hovering near her.

_We are taking him to face punishment._

_'You trust that they will give him what he deserves?'_

Rey hesitated, but her memory offered up stories of what had been done to the Hutts that had been overthrown on her own planets. Whispers of big fat slugs being strangled by their own chains, electrocuted with their own whips, frozen in their own carbonite.

_They will give him justice. I trust in their need for revenge._

_'Is that really what you want? Don't you want to do it? To make him scream? Make him feel the pain you felt?'_

She was pulled in a different direction and then Rey was assaulted with a new series of images. Rey standing over Tana's writhing form, his mouth opened in a desperate scream. Rey freeing other, destroying their captors. Rey tearing Unkar's heart out of his chest, ignoring his pleas of mercy.

The images were satisfying. They shouldn't have been and Rey shivered in revulsion, scared by what they indicated. She didn't want to be that person. She just wanted to travel, to tinker, to be free.

_'But don't you want the power? To stop this?'_

Rey felt another rush of energy move towards her and twisted violently to avoid it, trying desperately to escape back to the safety of her body, her own little island in the storm of energy around her.

Suddenly, Rey was on the floor, having jerked so violently that she fell sideways.

Din's head swung around to face her, clearly alarmed.

"Are you all right?"

Rey took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Yeah," she nodded, aware that her voice was strained and thin. "Just shocked myself."

Rey's limbs were tingling and she felt the need to pace, to physically remove herself from her meditation as well as mentally. She pushed herself to her feet.

"I need to go to the toilet."

Din regarded her for a few seconds, but inclined his head forward in acquiescence. "Be careful."

Rey nodded and walked away on weak limbs, brushing her hand over the Child's head as she left the cockpit. She could feel his confusion and fear at what he'd just experienced second-hand through their bond and Rey sent reassurance towards him.

_I'm safe now. I just need to take a walk. I'll explain when I get back._

Rey received a mental nod in response and the first clear mental words she'd heard from him.

_You better._

If Rey were not so shaken, she would have taken time to celebrate his advancement.

She trudged back down, going straight to the backroom to run her hands through the sonic cleaner and direct a few blasts towards her face. After a few minutes, Rey felt good enough to return. The energy around her was still unsettled and her emotions too frayed for her to meditate, but Rey thought she could have another crack at reading, or, failing that, least sit still and watch the stars zoom by.

She exited the fresher, intent on heading straight back up to the cockpit when she was distracted by the clanking sound of the Hutt shifting in his bonds.

The noise broke whatever sense of control Rey had obtained and suddenly all of her emotions came rushing back to her. She froze as she felt the oily energy hover around her, so close she could reach out and touch it with her senses if she wanted to.

_'It would be so easy to just kill him now. Get the job done.'_

Rey frowned. She wasn't sure if that thought came from her or from the… other thing, whatever it was.

Nevertheless, she shook her head. Din would easily be able to tell if Tana had died from a blaster to the head or from electrocution, and there was only one suspect he could viably have.

_'You could kill him without a weapon. You know you could if you really tried. Just reach out and rip his light out. It would be excruciating but there would be no way he could know it was you. That lowlife doesn't deserve to hold that light anyway.'_

And Rey was tempted.

There was no question that Tana would deserve it. She hadn't enjoyed the sensation of feeling a life end, the ball of energy scattering in all directions to join the sea that surrounded everything like it was being ripped apart by rabid hounds, not even when it was the assassins or the stormtroopers being destroyed. However, she thought she could make an exception for the Hutt.

It was so tempting. It would be so easy. She knew what she would need to do. To reach into the inky energy hovering just around her and watch it grasp at Tana's life light.

She was about to do it too, could feel her own power extending outward. But then an image overtook her vision. Of hundreds watching as Tana was tried, as he was convicted, as he was executed. Families that had been victimised, people that had been tortured, all standing in and outside the court room, their faces set in grim-faced satisfaction as justice was carried out. It was what should happen. It wouldn't if Rey ended Tana right there.

Suddenly, another thought entered her mind. She couldn't tell if it was from her or the Child, who as always, was a constant presence entwined with her consciousness.

_Obi-Wan Kenobi wouldn't kill him._

She knew the statement was true as soon as she thought it. Her favourite character (for she knew someone like him probably wasn't anything but part of a fantastical story for children to teach them about the Jedi Generals in the Clone Wars) wouldn't take revenge. It wasn't the Jedi way.

Rey didn't necessarily know if she wanted to be a Jedi - it seemed terribly dangerous and demanding and not at all as free as she desired to be - but she did know she wanted to be like Obi-Wan.

So, Rey closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, allowing herself to feel the burning depth of her hatred and anger, letting it build up inside her. The, she breathed out and let it all go, a tidal wave that quickly dissolved into a gentle current in the energy surrounding her.

The inky energy flickered perturbed by the large, yet harmless disturbance and Rey gathered her own power and released it at the unwelcome entity. This wave didn’t dissipate, gathering the inkiness up and washing it far away, until Rey couldn't feel it anymore. A few objects around the room that weren't bolted down shuddered.

Oops.

Rey didn’t look back at Tana, instead welcoming the visions of his trial and subsequent execution, before releasing them too and allowing herself to be at peace, feeling the calm flow of energy around her in a sought of passive meditation as she climbed back into the cockpit. Her fingers brushed the Child's head feeling a surge of pride across the bond in between the confusion he was holding.

_Good job._

_Thanks._

There was a beat of silence between them as Rey settled in her seat and picked up her datapad, Din glancing at her as she did.

_What was that?_

Rey could tell that he was replaying the feeling of the presence in his mind and she frowned a niggling sense of worry shared between them.

_I don't know. But I didn't like it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this wasn't too anticlimactic for you. Don't worry. There are bigger fights to come and the next two chapters are longer.
> 
> As always, I welcome comments. My tumblr is rose-thorn-14 if you want to ask me questions on there.


	6. Pirate Queen of Takodana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also known as Calling out Din for being a drama king: Part 1

A beep from the his ship had Mando glancing down at the controls in front of her.

Seeing that they were five minutes away from needing to come out of hyperspace, twisted around and yelled down the open cockpit door, "ETA is five minutes. Get up here. Iviin'yc!"

There was a bit of banging as tools were put away and whatever projects Rey had been working on were secured. Rey shot up the ladder less than a minute later, the Child balancing on her right shoulder. He handed her the spear once she'd gotten all the way up and jumped down into the passenger seat. Rey took her place in the co-pilot's spot, resting the spear on the wall beside her, just out of reach if she didn't use her powers (which she pretty much always did).

Her hands hovered over a few switches, waiting for Mando's nod before she flipped one and the ship started powering down the hyperdrive.

Mando watched Rey as she readied the ship for entry into an atmosphere, waiting to interject if she did something wrong. She didn't.

Once she was done, Rey sat back in the seat, looking to Mando for his assessment.

He inclined his head forward infusing as much warmth into his voice as he could, "Ori'jate."

Rey beamed at him and Mando felt a wide grin pull at his own lips as he reached out to give the girl a pat on the shoulder, moving slowly so she had time to move away if she wanted to. Rey was obviously touch starved after so many years on her own, but Mando had learned that some days she just needed her space. Today was not one of those days. Rey not only let him pat her shoulder, but smiled, impossibly, wider and gave him a one armed hug.

Mando held onto the warm feeling that the gesture filled him with as he landed the Razor Crest in the landing bay.

Rey cut a surprised glance at him as they touched down in the crowded area.

"Takodana's landing field is one of the securest this side of the galaxy. No one would dare cross Maz Kanata on her own planet," he explained, answering her silent question. He'd had to get good at that since Rey seemed to be afraid of asking questions out loud.

Rey nodded, smiling gratefully, as she turned around to get ready to leave, pausing at the passenger seat and bending down to let the Child climb onto her shoulder.

"Keep your blaster, dagger and spear close," Mando reminded her as they retreated from the cockpit. "We might be on neutral territory but there are still more than a few ure'ijaat shabuir slinking around."

Both of the children made noises of assent and then Mando was alone, left to contemplate just how much trouble they would get him into.

He joined Rey a few minutes later to find her smoothing down her new outfit, which was pretty much just a dark grey version of her old desert robes, with black under-tunic and pants as well as new boots. Mando hadn't wanted to get her anything too wildly different than what she was used to when he had gone shopping on Lamaredd. His instincts were confirmed when she seemed to prefer this set of clothes to the tunic and vest he had gotten her and she didn't take her arm bindings off or change her hairstyle.

"Here, you have a little grease on your face," Mando informed her, picking up a stray semi-clean rag lying around.

"Oh, where?" Rey asked.

"Do you want me to do it?"

Rey hesitated, but nodded. She scrunched her nose as Mando wiped the grease from her forehead.

He then pressed the button to open the ramp and threw the rag towards the gutted droid occupying a section of the bay's floor. Mando had been happy to allow the girl to tinker with the body of the assassin droid, once they'd stripped it of its weapons.

"How's the droid project doing?" he asked as they exited the ship.

Rey grinned a little. "I'm starting to understand HK-54's software and hardware. I might even be able to reprogram him eventually."

"What would you make him into?"

Rey shrugged. "Maybe a bodyguard? Or some form of helper?"

Mando nodded, swallowing back a sudden wave of emotion. Kuiil would have liked Rey, and she would have been fascinated by IG-11.

They entered the bar where Maz allowed her casual passers through to dwell, weaving through the people and ignoring their curious glances as well as the way tables quietened as they walked through. Rey kept pace beside him, no longer following him like a lap dog as she had done on the first planet they'd stopped on. Mando scanned the bar as they walked, quickly supporting the orange-skinned woman he was looking for and walking over to her otherwise unoccupied table.

The unassuming appearing woman looked up at them as Mando came to a stop across from her.

"Ah, Mr Djarin, it has been a long time."

She looked at Rey with the Child on her right shoulder, leaning slightly on her staff, which she was holding in the same arm.

"And you have some… travelling companions. Some rather interesting travelling companions."

Mando pursed his lips but inclined his head forward.

"I assume you’re here for business and not just to see me?"

Mando gave a sharp nod.

Maz Kanata smirked.

"By all means, take a seat," she told them, waving her hand towards the two seats across from her, somehow having just the right amount.

Maz tapped a black semi-spherical device in the centre of the table and it started buzzing, causing the air around them to become charged with a sought of staticky hum. Mando glanced around and found the table now surrounded by some sort of transparent wall, almost unnoticeable if he wasn't staring directly at it.

"Silencing field," the pirate explained to the befuddled looking children. "You must understand that it looks bad if I conduct all my proceedings behind closed doors, but I cannot have all my patron's secrets being scattered to my visitors. This is a happy compromise. And a rare one at that."

Maz turned her attention back to Mando, staring at him searchingly.

"Now what is it that I can do for you?"

The question of what was he willing to do to pay for it went unsaid.

Mando inclined his head minutely towards the Child, who was close enough to reach out and touch his helmet. 

"We want all the information you have on his species… please."

Maz turned her attention to the young boy, looking him up and down.

"I have indeed encountered two of his kind before."

Mando stayed perfectly still even as his lips twisted into a frown. That wasn't telling him much.

"How old is he?"

Mando didn't let his impatience show. He knew he would have to answer if he wanted to know information. And there was no use lying to Maz. She always seemed to know when people weren't telling the truth.

"He should be approaching fifty-one soon."

Maz's eyes widened. "And already so developed? Yoda and Yaddle were both in their mid-seventies before they were so advanced."

"Yoda?" Rey asked, immediately ducking her head and blushing at her surprised outburst.

Maz looked to her. "You know of him, Young One?"

Rey shrugged. "He was mentioned in a few of the stories we've read."

Maz reacted again at that, pressing her lips together.

Mando knew he would need to say something to get the conversation moving. "He has… matured quite a lot recently."

That was true. The Child had grown a lot since Jakku, much faster than the unnoticeable difference over the months Mando had had him before that. The Child now stood just shy of Mando's knee height, and was no longer swamped by his thick smock. Mando had even had to get him a few new outfits, and he was currently wearing a thick black smock with a grey robe, an ensemble to match Rey's own clothes.

The Child could now move around pretty much on his own, making jumps he would never have been able to do before, and shouldn't be able to do now due to his size. And he could carry more things - with his arms - able to hold Rey's staff for her whilst also balancing on her shoulder, and even able to hold it parallel to the ground if she had given it to him when he was not on her shoulder.

Mando was certain the Child understood him now as well. Rey had told him that the Child could almost read as well and whilst he had yet to speak Basic or Mando'a, Mando had heard him making a few intentional high pitched beeps that Rey had said was very basic Binary.

Maz Kanata leaned back in her chair, giving a small hum of interest, looking between them with a critical eye.

"I will give you the information you seek free of charge, but I am afraid you will not find what you are looking for."

Mando felt his gut start to twist uncomfortably.

The woman shifted in her chair, eyes sweeping over all three of them and pausing on the Child before she continued on.

"Not much is known about his species. In fact, counting him, there are only three reported instances of them appearing in the galaxy. They age slowly and live long, with Master Yoda living just over nine hundred years."

Mando frowned. _Master?_

"They are incredibly force sensitive, though I don't recall Yoda or Yaddle being quite as… bright as you. Either of you," Maz looked at both Rey and the Child as she said the last part.

Mando huffed internally, unable to hold back his comment, "the Force isn't real."

Maz regarded Mando with an amused smile. "It isn't? Then how would you explain the wonders you have seen from the Children?"

Mando pursed his lips. He'd heard stories of the weird energy the Jedi and the Sith could tap into, as well as rumours of other force users. However, he'd never operated close enough to the Inner Rim to hear more about it and talk of anything to do with them had been almost taboo at both of the Enclaves he had lived in throughout his life.

Admitting they were magic would be easier, but he'd known for some time the name of the power his children were tapping into. He just hadn't wanted to accept it.

"We've been using the Force?" Rey asked quietly, her eyes wide and her voice infused with a sense of awe that was reserved for when the Child taught her how to do the most impressive tricks, or when Mando allowed her to borrow one of his holo-novels.

Maz Kanata nodded kindly at the girl and Mando felt his discomfort grow. This was not the information he wanted.

The pirate queen allowed the table to go quiet, watching them all calmly: Mando stewing in his own frustration, Rey staring at the table, her mind obviously working itself in circles, and the Child looking between them.

Finally, Mando broke.

"Do you know where the rest of him are?"

Maz pressed her lips together, to corners of her mouth tugging down.

"I'm afraid that's a secret no one in the galaxy knows. The location of their planet, and even the name of their own species, was wiped from Yoda and Yaddle's mind when they were released from the planet."

Beside him, Maz registered the Child going rigid before he pressed a tiny hand against Rey's temple.

Rey also tensed as information was obviously passed between them.

"His memory was removed as well," Rey murmured. "Not just blocked, but erased. He only has vague feelings of warmth left from anything before a year ago. But he thinks he asked to leave?"

Maz nodded. "Yoda said that as well. However, the Master Jedi was not able, nor did he desire to seek out his people."

Rey shifted, reaching her left arm across her body so she could lightly stroke the Child's ear.

"He agrees," she murmured, a smile pulling at her lips. "He said he wants to stay with us."

Mando's mouth pulled into an expression to match the girl's, despite what should have been the bad news.

Maz inclined her head forward, her own troubled frown having faded.

"A nice moment. However, I sense that this means you will be seeking other information?"

Rey's shoulders dropped slightly at the question and Mando grimaced beneath his helmet.

"Yes," Mando admitted reluctantly. "They still need someone to teach them about their abilities."

"We are teaching ourselves," Rey informed Kanata, but ducked her head as she admitted, "however, we do need some help. We're kind of flying blind at the moment."

Maz stared at them for a few seconds, examining them critically as she readjusted her left eye lens. She eventually shifted, leaning forward and placing both of her elbows on her table.

"As far as I know, you have two viable options. The most straight-forward one is that you could submit them to the New Jedi Order."

Mando instinctively disliked that idea, but he waited for Rey to comment on it, trusting her to speak for the Child as well as herself.

The girl grinned giddily for a second, but her excitement only lasted a second. Her smile dropped and her shoulders tensed slightly. The Child's ears twitched.

"Submit? Like he has to leave us there?"

Maz was obviously choosing her words carefully. "I am not aware of all the details of how this New Order is run. I know that unlike the Old Order, children are allowed to stay in contact and visit their family, but I think they do stay at the temple for most of their time."

"So we won't be able to stay with Din?"

Maz shook her head. "Not all the time, no."

Rey pursed her lips. "What's the other option?"

Din felt his heart jolt in his chest, as he turned to stare at the two children incredulously.

"Are you sure?" the woman asked.

Rey nodded briskly.

Maz gave a small smile. "Very well. You should know that this is by far the harder path."

Rey set her shoulders, her jaw clenched in determination. The Child stared at Maz unblinkingly.

Maz sighed. "Over my very long life, I have managed to gather rather a lot of information about Force Users. I have translated many of the more ancient texts into modern dialects either as holobooks or on chips. I can give you these as well as a few other tools to hone your skills until you find a powerful Force User willing to teach you."

Rey leant forward at that, placing her left hand on the table as the Child jumped down onto the flat surface. They locked eyes and a few seconds passed with Maz and Din looking on.

When they broke away, the Child looked over at Maz, giving a single nod. He grinned in tandem with Rey as the girl gave her verbal consent.

"I think we both like the sound of that."

Mando's heart was soaring and his whole body was buzzing with a giddy mixture of elation and relief. His head felt light from the assault of emotions. However, something niggled in the back of his mind.

"What do you want me to do for the information?" he asked, despite how it soured his mood.

Maz glanced at the children.

"Why don't you go explore my home while I have a discussion with your… with Din?"

The Child and Rey glanced at each other before simultaneously turning their heads towards Din, obvious questions on their faces.

Din inclined his head forward, reaching out to lightly brush the Child's ear, and then hovering his hand over Rey's shoulder, only touching it when she gave a nod. He squeezed her comfortingly and she smiled a little it, even though her eyebrows were furrowed. The Child swung back onto her shoulder and Rey stood up.

She copied his gesture before leaving, hovering her hand over his shoulder until he nodded, and only then patting it. With that, she started walking away.

As they did, Maz pressed the device in the middle of the table, standing up at the table, the scraping of her chair against the floor drawing the attention of everyone in the bar.

"These children are under my protection as long as they reside on Takodana," she announced, her voice firm, and her eyes hard. "Anyone who tries to harm them will have to deal with my displeasure."

Maz eyed her visitors critically, many of them nodded in acknowledgement, a few shivered, some even dropped their eyes as her gaze swept over them.

With that, she reactivated the silencing field and sat down.

Din inclined his head forward.

"Thank you. You didn't need to do that."

Maz waved her hand. "Of course I did. I know what kind of people go through here. Most of them wouldn't dare step out of line, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

Din nodded in acknowledgement.

"So what did you want me to do that was so horrible the children couldn't hear it?"

Maz smirked and shook her head. "Oh, I would never ask you to do anything too awful. I know how the remaining Mandalorians are with their moral codes and honour. In fact, we have a few of your former warriors staying here at the moment."

Din tilted his head to the side.

Maz's grin widened even as she rolled her eyes. "Fine. I will get to the point. I see those children still haven't taught you enough patience to indulge an old woman's rambling. You still have a single-minded focus when it comes to your work."

Maz pulled a black hologram device that Din recognized as a map out of her pocket.

"This has the location of some rather rare artefacts programmed into it, about five of them. I would like you to collect them for me. They will be cubic or dodecahedral in shape."

Din took the device, slightly taken aback. "Will it be booby-trapped?"

Maz shook her head. "I do not think so. However, it is a few day's journey through some rather dangerous territories, and it involves a bit of hiking over rocky cliffs. Nothing you can't handle. Though, I will, of course, be happy to keep your children safe whilst you go."

Din frowned, glancing down at the map as his brain tried to make sense of it. This was too good to be true.

Maz smiled kindly. "Think about it. Come back to me with your answer tonight."

Din nodded, standing up at the obvious dismissal and walking over to the bar as he turned the map over in his hands.

His gaze swept around the room but he didn't see them. However, Maz had told them to go explore and had given them her personal protection so he wasn't too worried about their safety for the immediate future. He wasn't sure about leaving them here for a few days though.

Din heaved a deep sigh and sat down heavily on the bar seat. He needed a break from the children. Just five minutes and then he'd go find them.

Someone sat down in the seat next to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Din! You son of a gundark!"

Din had already grabbed the offending hand and spun to face his attacker, freezing when he saw a grinning humanoid face with dark skin. His brain took a second to recognise the voice.

"Conner?"

The former Mandalorian Warrior's grin widened and Din slipped to the Nautolan man beside him, who was also smiling.

"It's good to see that you're still alive," he said warmly and Din suddenly placed him as Jifo, another one of the members of his former Cell.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Din admitted as he relaxed.

His brothers in arms pulled out a stool on either side of him and sat down.

"We saw you come in with the kids," Jifo told him. "I see you picked up another foundling."

He tapped Din's signet. "Growing your clan quickly."

Din's cheeks warmed and he ducked his head.

"They're not… We haven't… I haven't done the gai bal manda yet."

Both men drew back, surprised.

"You haven't?" Jifo asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Why?" Conner demanded at the same time.

Din pursed his lips. "I'm not breaking the Resol'nare. I'm teaching them the language. Rey's nearly fluent. And I'm teaching them about our culture. I just want to give them a choice. Let them see more of us before they decide to become Mandalorian. But…"

"But?" Jifo questioned gently, leaning forward.

Din heaved a sigh, his gut churning. He felt sick, but he needed to get this out.

"They are going to be Jedi, or Force Users at least."

Both men were silent at that, Jifo sat back. Din glanced to either side of him, seeing identical looks of amazement.

"So that shab's real, then?" Conner asked quietly. "Half of me thought all that magic powers banthershit was just stories. Or at least that anyone who could use them had died."

"They won't be… Sith?" Jifo inquired in a whisper.

Din shook his head vigorously. "Rey despises the Empire and I think the Child agrees with her. Besides, Rey hates slavery, which the Sith engaged a lot in."

He'd seen the way she'd glared at the Hutt. Separating them had been just as much for Tana's protection as well as her own mental health.

"Then I don't see a problem with it," Conner claimed. "We all know we should have sided with the Jedi anyway."

Both Jifo and Din snapped their heads towards him.

"What? You both know our history. Every one of us knows it's true, we're just too scared to say it. If we hadn't been so entrenched in our tradition and committed to war in the past, the Mandalorians wouldn't be in the position we're in today."

Din stayed silent staring ahead as he clutched his drink, not drinking it but liking the idea of having it in his hand.

What Conner had just said was a lesson that had been subtly taught to them in their history classes throughout childhood, a truth that went unacknowledged but known to every Mandalorian. Until Conner said it just then.

"We may not have agreed with the Jedi way, but they were the lesser of two evils. Now it is too late and the Empire continues to eradicate us, even after they've supposedly been defeated for ten years," Jifo murmured. "And there _have_ been Mandalorian Jedi before."

Din nodded, some tight coil in his chest finally loosening after months of worry as he stared hollowly at his untouched drink.

"So you guys are returning to the Core, as Caburs instead of Verda?" he asked, changing the subject as neatly as possible.

Conner stared at the side of Din's helmet for a few seconds before he relaxed, obviously deciding to let him.

"We may not be able to be Warriors anymore but we damn well can protect our people," he claimed grimly.

Din nodded approvingly. The new set up of Mandalorian society meant that those who worked as Warriors, doing whatever they could around the Glalaxy to obtain money for the children, had to keep their helmets on around anyone but their clan. It was for safety as much as anything else, since once their cover was blown around anyone, they made themselves and their Cell vulnerable to attack. If they did take off their helmet, they had two options: to continue life as a civilian and step away from Mandalorian society becoming dar'manda, or to make their way back to the nearest Shelter, or, if possible the Core (the largest Mandalorian settlement left in the galaxy - the Mandalorians would not proclaim a New Mandalore until they knew it was safe to re-emerge, which would probably be never). From there they could become Cabur, or Protectors, helping the Mandalorians in whatever way they could without venturing out.

"I hear they let Cabur roam around the galaxy," Jifo informed them in a cheerful tone. "You just have to hide your armour. Or not wear it at all."

Din wrinkled his nose at that, Jifo and Conner showing similar expressions of disgust. Verda wore their armour proudly. It was the closest part of their religion. Din couldn't imagine doing what Conner ad Jifo did.

His mind stuttered over that thought for a second, recognising the lie in it.

He could imagine taking off his armour, either to protect the Mandalorian secret, or, more importantly, to save the Child or Rey. Of course, he couldn't wear the helmet again. It would be melted down and reshaped, probably into the same design, but it was the symbolic aspect of it.

"We've been waiting for a good opportunity to make it to the Core," Conner admitted, looking at Din.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I'll give you transport there. Thank you for asking so nicely."

He glanced down at his map. "Right after I carry out this mission for Maz Kanata. It will take a few days. I'll have to leave the children here."

Jifo snorted, resting a hand on Din's shoulder. "Of course we'll take care of your kids while you're out being a proper Verd. We're going to be Cabur after all, protecting foundlings will be our main prerogative."

The Nautolan waited a few moments before adding. "Thank you for asking so nicely."

\----

Rey and the Child immediately decided to head off to a quieter area of Maz's palace.

They ducked down corridors, taking turns whenever they heard voices.

Finally, they hit a dead end somewhere deep inside the building, only a single door ahead of them.

Rey walked up to it, expecting to need to double back , but the door opened as soon as she and the Child (who was still on her shoulder) were within reach. They glanced at each other before Rey stepped over the threshold, looking around furtively in the shadowy room full of what appeared to be junk.

Immediately, Rey's interest was piqued. A room full of junk to a normal person was a trove of hidden treasures to a scavenger. Everything could be of value if used correctly.

Rey took another step further into the room, fully intending to start looking through the stuff, even if she might not take anything. However, she was immediately distracted.

The Child felt it as well. It was like a cord had been wrapped around their waists and were pulling them towards different areas of the room.

The Child leaped off her shoulder and grabbed onto her staff. In response, Rey rotated her spear until the Child could stand on the ground. As soon as he was, the Child hopped up onto the shelves on the side of the room, whilst Rey's own string was pulling her towards the back of the room.

She came to a stop in front of a box. It didn't even occur to Rey to fight the urge that was telling her to kneel down and open it.

Inside was a weird cylindrical object.

Without thinking, Rey reached forward and picked it up, the bond making her aware of the Child doing the exact same thing with a similar, slightly smaller device.

As soon as her hand enclosed around the device, Rey was overwhelmed. It wasn't like the usual vision, that felt like a wave crashing against her. Instead, it was like her consciousness was launched across the galaxy. She was the ship and someone had engaged the hyperdrive.

And then all Rey knew was fear. There was flashes of red and _innocent children_ being cut down and there was nothing she could do about it.

Their screams and pleas echoed around her as a single red beam with a flickering cross guard sliced through too-small figures. Rey wanted to scream, to beg them to stop, but she couldn't even do that.

Soon there was none left. The tiny shining stars that were brighter than most Rey had witnessed and oh so pure were extinguished one by one, the ones with enough sense to hide dragged out and slaughtered like the rest of them. Every last one of them.

The glowing red sword and the ball of hate and anger and resentment that held it left and then there was only darkness and broken bodies.

The last thing Rey registered before she came back to herself was a single, broken scream of pure anguish echoing from another place in the galaxy, its grief sending quakes through the energy of the galaxy so powerful that Rey could still feel the echoes of them wrack against her consciousness when she came back to herself.

Rey's first action was to drop the device, falling onto her back as she pushed herself away from it. Then she was turning onto her knees, arms braced against the ground in front of her as she gagged.

Oh gods, she couldn't get the images out of her mind. She could still hear their screams. She could still _smell_ the burning of their flesh.

A hand on her shoulder shook Rey out of her haze of pain. She glanced up to find Maz kneeling in front of her. The Child was still across the room, staring at her as he gripped his own device in shaking hands.

Rey was unsurprised to find he wasn't as affected by the vision as she was. He didn't experience emotions the same way she did, at least not yet, and visions were never as _immersive_ for him.

Rey blinked, coming up onto her knees, a faint part of her mind glad nothing had come up when she'd gagged. All she felt was the slight burning of tears and bile against the back of her throat.

When she saw that Maz was holding out the device in her hand, she almost threw herself away from the woman, but managed to stop herself after her muscles had tensed to take out the action.

"This is yours," the old woman informed her. "It has chosen you as its next master."

Rey shook her head, standing up to turn away from Maz and the device. However, a voice in her head stopped her.

_'Do not be afraid. The saber has much to show you, not much of it pleasant, but you are_ **_meant_ ** _to have it.'_

The voice was familiar even though Rey was certain she had never heard it before. She'd never even heard an _accent_ like that before. Her very core was telling her to trust it.

Rey hovered her hand over offered object, hesitating before she took it once again.

Any hopes Rey had that this time would be better were dashed as she was sucked into another tunnel of hyperspace. This time, however, instead of through the galaxy, however, Rey was launched through time.

She landed somewhere inside. It was the temple. Rey did not know how she knew that fact, but it was the one truth she knew as she felt her body grip the device, somehow activating it.

The child in front of her looked up at her, scared, but not of her. Not like he should be.

_'Move!'_ Rey screamed, trying to desperately to communicate with the children to no avail. _'Run! Please.'_

But they didn't.

The children's faces remained open and pure and trusting, looking to her for protection.

That was until she sliced through the first one, light singing skin and cloth.

And then there was only pain and fear.

They never stood a chance.

Rey cut through the small bodies the screams of terror echoing through both the air and the Force. Rey screamed with them, begging her body to stop even as bodies continued to fall under her attack.

The blue beam in her hand, _her lightsaber_ , was killing them.

Most of them didn’t even get a chance to activate their own weapons. Those that did had their attacks batted away with swift viscousness.

By the time her body had finished its task, Rey's own voice was exhausted. She curled into her own mind, shudders wracking her being as she felt the lights that were so pure and bright go out one by one.

When she was done, Rey's body turned to leave and she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a mirror. Rey came back to herself with golden eyes swimming in her vision.

Rey dropped the weapon for the second time, her whole body sagging. The only think keeping her up was the comforting embrace of the Child's power surrounding her.

She glanced at him, feeling the remnants of his own second vision as their bond re-opened. This one had shaken him more. Rey felt the echoes of feeling thousands of lights be extinguished by betrayal all in the same moment. Connections snapped as the feeling of betrayal and fear wrung heavily around him. The wave of pain and grief that had swept through the galaxy in an instant.

And, suddenly, it was too much. Rey had had enough.

She stumbled back from Maz Kanata's outstretched hand and dodged around her as she sprinted from the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation of the Mando'a
> 
> Iviin'yc = Quickly
> 
> Ori'jate = Very good
> 
> Ure'ijaat shabuir: This one doesn’t really translate well but the first part means without honour and the second one is an extreme insult, think along the lines of jerk, asshole or scum, but worse (Mando needs to watch his language around the kids."
> 
> Dar'manda: the state of being not Mandalorian. An outsider.
> 
> Verd: Warrior/Soldier
> 
> Verda: Warriors
> 
> Cabur: Protector/Guardian
> 
> \-----
> 
> Once again, I welcome comments.


	7. Fuck Force Ghosts (not in that way you dirty minded little freaks)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also known as, In Which the Author Reveals the True Extent of Her Nerdiness (Part 1 or ?)
> 
> But like, if you want hints about the plot read the chapter title or the actual chapter. I don't know what the hell I'm writing about. (Actually, I take that back. I do. Please. I think about this fic a lot. I'm just lazy.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU GET IN THE CHAPTER
> 
> Okay. So I realise that I am touching on some heavily contested topics within the Fandom. Both to do with characters and with canon Force Science. Please know that many of these views are conclusions that I believe would likely be drawn by the characters given their personalities and the information they have available to them at their current time. 
> 
> What i am trying to say is warning for Grey Jedi philosophy discussion. I do not necessarily agree with what Rey says about the Grey Side of the Force in this chapter, however she is working on limited information. It will be rectified later (specifically Chapter 16).
> 
> Ok. You can go on now. Once again, if you want to, please comment. I can guarantee they will be appreciated and will make my day. No matter how stupid. And I will get around to answering them once I've actually caught up with my homework and with my writing schedule.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Din found her a little under an hour later, tinkering with the wiring of HK-54 as she skimmed through the introduction of one of Din's holobooks on fuel types, lightly considering the differences between endothermic and exothermic reactions.

Din sat down on the floor beside her not looking at her face as he watched her work. The Child, whom he had carried there, wondered off to another part of the ship, leaving them alone.

After a few minutes, he withdrew the device from his belt and set it down on the floor in front of her.

Rey stiffened.

"Maz told me that this was yours. That it chose you," Din said. "If you want, I can go throw it back in her face and tell her to keep it."

The thought of parting with the weapon sparked a deep feeling of wrongness inside her.

Rey shook her head. "No. It belongs with me."

_At least for now_ , the Force whispered to her.

Din picked up the weapon and offered it to her. Rey did not take it.

There were a few beats of silence before Rey slouched down.

"I'm scared," she admitted.

Din placed the device on the ground.

"And that's okay. Fear is natural," he assured her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rey hesitated for only a few moments before she decided that she did. She explained what had happened when she touched the weapon, not going into detail about the actual content of her visions, but outlining how they made her feel.

"And I can tell it has one more thing to show me. I can feel the knowledge pulsing in it, waiting to get out. I don't… I don't know if I can do that again."

Suddenly, Rey heard the same voice from earlier echo through her mind.

_'It is alright, my dear. The lightsaber has important lessons to teach you. You will need it in the future.'_

_Will it be… bad?_ Rey found herself asking back.

_'I suspect you will not be as horrified by what you see in the next vision.'_

Rey let out a shaky breath, slowly reaching forward to pick up the weapon.

"You don't have to do this now," Din murmured to her.

"I want to," Rey assured him. "Besides, Mandalorians hate hut'uuna, don't they."

"There's a difference between being a coward and protecting yourself," Din said gently. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Rey nodded. "I am. Just… just stay here please."

Din inclined his head forward. "Of course, ne ade."

Rey took a deep breath, trying to brace herself inside her mind, planting herself in her consciousness and holding onto the energy around her tightly. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed the lightsabre.

None of her earlier fortifying did anything to stop Rey getting overwhelmed and she landed on a burning red planet sometime in the past.

Words were being exchanged between her and another, but Rey had trouble making out their features in her vision. The assaulting feeling of anger and desperation and darkness was surrounding her, permeating her very being and making it hard to focus on anything except her own actions. And then they were fighting. Or at least, that's what Rey thought they were doing.

It was more like a dance than a real fight. Rey knew pretty much every move her opponent was going to make and it seemed that the feeling was mutual. As her body tried to find a way through the other man's defences, Rey attempted to break through the haze of fury that prevented her mind from sensing anything other than her own wants and the flashing of the blades in front of her.

It was a weird sensation. Although Rey was experiencing the emotions and the dark stickiness of the energy around her, it was not her own and she was not truly there. It was choking, literally blinding her to everything but the break-neck rhythms of the fight. However, it was not so all-encompassing that Rey felt her own Self affected by it.

She suspected that this was the only reason Rey was able to penetrate even slightly through the haze to get a glimpse of her opponent. She was not able to gain enough clarity to glean his physical features, but she did get a similar sense of betrayal and desperation from her opponent. However, none of the anger, or at least not the eroding, destructive anger Rey could feel around her. No, her opponent was all righteous fury and disappointment and sadness. But mostbof all he was sadness. A bone deep grief that wrapped around his very being.

The difference surprised Rey enough that she was caught unawares as the fight suddenly shifted directions and they both found themselves on a vertical obstacle.

She lost herself back to the fight then and only came back to actually thinking again when she jumped up towards her opponent only to have the disconcerting sense of the loss of feeling in three of her limbs. She was relieved to find that she couldn't experience any of the pain that her body was feeling as it caught on fire. She could tell that she was pleading for mercy, but her opponent just turned around and walked off.

Rey's world went dark as her body succumbed to the pain and the darkness.

Rey gasped but did not drop the lightsabre as she came back to herself, instead she clutched it tighter.

"Are you okay?" Din asked.

She nodded, swallowing back the bile that rose in her throat. She may not have been able to feel the pain, but she had still smelt the burning of flesh and heard the crackle of fire as her body was melted by the lava.

Din's hands were hovering out in front of him, not willing to touch Rey without her permission but obviously wanting to give her comfort. Rey made the decision for him and lunged forward into his arms, still clutching his lightsabre.

_'You did well, little one,'_ the foreign voice told her and Rey relished the sense of pride that rung from it before the presence faded back into the energy - no the Force, Rey could use the Force, she was a _Jedi_ \- around her.

Rey pulled back just enough so that her voice wouldn't be muffled.

"The vision wasn't as bad as last time," she murmured. "It was still… intense… but I'm okay."

She grimaced and then revised, "Well, maybe not okay. But I can handle it. I don't want to talk about what I saw."

Din nodded. "That's fine. I'm just glad that you're safe."

Rey felt her chest warm as a weird floaty feeling filled her stomach. The feeling was intensified as she became aware of the Child re-entering her mind. After she'd run away, he'd withdrawn his presence from her as much as he could, even putting the shields up.

(This separation technique was discovered in one of their games of hide and seek when the Child had suddenly cut off their connection. Rey had, predictably panicked. She hadn't known they were able to do that. Once he'd reopened their bond a few moments later, he'd shown her how to do it.

It was the most barrier they could put between themselves, shielding their thoughts and emotions from each other and even hiding their presence. They could still sense each other's life forces, but weren't able to pinpoint location. It wasn't exactly a comfortable feeling, almost like willingly losing a limb, and they couldn't go much longer than an hour before the aching absence had them both knocking their shields down and welcoming the embrace of their presence's in each other's minds.)

Most of their mental interactions were still shared emotion and memories since they only tended to use words when they needed something specific to be said. Sharing her visions with the Child helped immensely. She almost didn't want to subject him to it, but he also exposed her to his own ones. Showing him what she saw didn't take away from what the horror of what she saw, but it was nice having someone to share the burden with.

In an instant, the Child had caught her up on what she'd missed and Rey pulled back further, returning her attention to Din.

"There's something you need to tell us?"

Din froze for a second before he sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm never going to get used to this," he muttered, before taking a deep breath.

"Yes, I do," he informed them. "The task Maz Kanata wants me to complete is not bad or too dangerous, but I would still like you both to stay here. I should only be gone for a week, maybe two at the most, and you will have two of my former Tribe mates with you. I'll introduce you to them before I leave. Although, I suspect you already know what they look like."

Rey grinned at Din's tired tone and knowing tilt of the head instead of blushing and ducking her own like she would have a few months ago.

Din touched a hand lightly on one of their shoulders' each.

"When I am done, I want to travel to the Core, the main centre of Mandalorian activity in the galaxy. I will make sure you both see a mir'baar'ur so you can learn the ways of mirjahaal."

"Mind healing?" Rey asked.

Din nodded seriously. "It is one of the most important parts of our society."

Rey gave a single nod. The concept was foreign to her, but Din's tone allowed for no questions. She would have to ask Maz Kanata if she was willing to share any information about it or Mandalorians for free.

"I'm going to miss you two," Din admitted.

"I'll miss you too," Rey told him reaching an arm across her body to squeeze the hand on her shoulder.

"Me too," the Child said in a high-pitched voice.

Both of them stared at him and the Child's cheeks turned a slightly darker shade of green as he pulled his ears over his eyes.

Rey didn't need the rush of embarrassment across their bond to read his emotions.

Din was silent for a few seconds before he swept the Child up in a tight hug. Rey grinned madly.

\-----

Rey found herself reluctant to go to sleep that night, and it wasn't because of the Visions.

She was surrounded by a bunch of holobooks on the Force, Maz allowing her to start reading through them whilst Din was on mission and her minions packed the rest into crates or loaded them onto datachips to be transported in the Razor Crest. Rey was glad for the distraction, her mood having been glum since Din left after a quick lunch of a mildly spiced fish.

The books were all on the introduction to the Force, discussing both the Light Side and the Dark Side as well as various different clans of Force Users. She hadn't known there had been any besides the Jedi and the Sith. She had roughly the same amount of information of both sides of the force in the small stack of books Maz had given her to start with.

There had been a lot about the corruption of the Dark Side and the demands that were placed upon Light Side Force Users to maintain their Light.

However, Maz had also given her a few very old texts that were difficult to read because of their phrasing, but very interesting once she'd been able to parse out their language.

They described the Light as warm and the Dark as cold. The Light was giving whilst the Dark was taking.

Not nearly as radical as the selflessness versus selfishness or emotionless versus hatred that the newer material described them as, though those observations were not necessarily incorrect. Just limited.

Rey had been keeping up a passive meditation during the entire afternoon and evening as she read through dinner. The Force was buzzing around her. Excited. Urging her to go on.

She ran through what she'd learnt about different reactions a few hours ago in her mind. Exothermic reactions released energy into its surroundings and felt warm. Endothermic reactions took energy from their surroundings and was thus cold. Too much of either would use up all their reactants.

Rey grinned giddily as she had her epiphany, the Force around her singing in triumph.

_'Go to sleep'_ the Child snapped across their bond, though she could also feel his mind reeling from her breakthrough.

He had been reading over her shoulder for most of the day, but was now curled up on a pillow in the huge, lush bed beside her.

_'We won't be able to test your theory tomorrow if we're too tired to do anything.'_

Rey nodded, sending a feeling of sheepish apology back to him as she closed all her books, saving her pages before she turned off the bedside light and hunkered down in the almost too-comfortable bed.

\----

Contrary to Rey's expectations, she was not greeted in the land of sleep by nightmares. She wasn't plagued by them every night, but after the day she'd had, she definitely expected at least one about being burned alive or about killing children.

However, Rey found herself in the place she had pictured when the Child first opened her mind to the Force.

The desert was very different from the barren plane it had been last time.

The Razor Crest was still there, to her left and her old tent was about ten metres away.

The sky seamed closer than it did last time, the stars bright as they pressed in around her. The galaxies and planets looked larger and clearer than she ever remembered it being when she lived there. She thought that she might be able to run her fingers through the closest nebula's purple gas cloud if she climbed onto the top of the Razor Crest. Rey frowned, realising that if that was the case, the stars should have appeared much bigger. She shouldn't have been able to see any black in the sky at all.

She didn't get the sense that the stars in her mind had shrunk though, more like she, and her world, had grown.

Rey thought about trying to touch the stars and stood up from her cross-legged position on the ground, immediately grimacing as she felt the sand stick to her skin. It had taken her weeks to stop finding sand in her hair every time she washed it. She didn't particularly want to deal with it again so soon. As soon as she thought that, the sand disappeared from her skin.

Rey felt her lips twitch upwards slightly at that and turned to do what she had first intended only to become aware of a figure standing between her and the Razor Crest. As she focused on him, a familiar figure with copper hair and a neatly trimmed beard solidified before her.

"Hello, young one," he greeted, his face arranged in a warm, yet subdued smile.

"General Kenobi!" Rey exclaimed taking a step forward as a giddy smile pulled at her lips before she remembered herself and tempered her reaction, clamping down on her excitement and adjusting her smile to be more polite.

She tried not to let the embarrassed flush show on her cheeks.

"I'm glad you decided to pick up the lightsaber," General Kenobi informed her, inclining his head forward.

Rey's eyes widened as she finally recognised the voice.

"You're the one who spoke to me!"

General Kenobi's smile widened slightly and he nodded. "I did."

Rey hesitated, not knowing whether to curse him or thank him. The visions had not been pleasant but the delighted hum of the kyber crystal within the lightsabre had almost made up for the hurt the instrument had caused her. The power emanating from it was reminiscent of the one she had felt from the few red kybers she had found whilst scavenging. The sense had, of course been muted to what she felt from the kyber now, he had always been both drawn to and repelled by the places in the ships where they were kept to power their weapons. Bringing them in had always meant a juicy reward.

The last time she'd found one, almost six months before she left, Rey had been given the right to wear her arm bindings, an honour none of the other scavengers had earnt.

The kyber had seemed almost relieved to be in Rey's presence and its happy hum had been comforting as she carried it around. Even now, the saber was sitting on the bed side table beside her blaster, despite Rey having no clue how to use it.

After a few moments, Rey decided on the latter option, inclining her head in a respectful nod as she said, "Thank you."

The general tilted his head but otherwise didn't react.

"Why are you here?" she asked, for she knew that the Jedi was truly here, not just a manifestation in her dreams.

Her dreams could never produce such a vivid Force presence. She dipped into it to confirm her belief, becoming aware of the approval General Kenobi was subtly yet warmly projecting into the Force as she opened up her own connection to it. His own power nudged back at her when she brushed up against him and Rey withdrew quickly, surprised. She lowered her eyes, her cheeks heating up at being caught.

The general merely smiled a little wider before he took a deep breath, a sought of subdued anxiety dampening his presence.

"The Force brought me here," he told her. "I've been drifting for the past few years, watching what I wanted to, but just generally being at peace."

He sighed deeply, his presence turning even more stormy. "Events have been set into motion that are now inevitable, and I suppose the Force has chosen you and your brother as the next unfortunate ones to bare the burdens of galaxy's turmoils."

General Kenobi's eyes hardened, his face revealing more emotion than it had in the whole conversation.

"It is not fair to expect so much of you, but I am powerless to stop your future trials."

Master Kenobi's shoulders dropped slightly.

"I can only try and guide you. I have been given another chance. Hopefully I can do better than I did in the past."

Rey's heart twisted in her chest and she wanted to reach out, to say something to comfort him. However, she didn't know him enough to know what would help and she didn't want to make it worse.

However, she must have projected some of her confusion into the Force because General Kenobi's expression immediately cleared as he looked at her with a neutral expression, somehow projecting wry amusement with just his eyes.

"I will explain in time. The Force has shown me what I must do. Hopefully, though, some of my memories are better than the ones you just experienced."

With that, General Kenobi turned towards the Razor Crest, gesturing for her to follow. Rey felt herself relaxing as they marched up the ramp, the ship's comforting presence allowing her to unwind after the Jedi's grave predictions.

When she got in, however, she didn't find the familiar interior of the ship. Instead they were in a clearing of a forest, reminiscent of the very first planet Din had stopped on after Jakku.

The Child walked in from the other side of the clearing, an older version of him using a stick to walk following half a step behind.

Rey sent a happy greeting towards him, receiving an equally enthusiastic reply from the Child. She felt some tension in her chest ease. It was… disorientating being around an unfamiliar Force user without him.

Their presences melded together, entwining until they were almost one person.

Yoda and General Kenobi glanced at each other, their uncertainty not quite masked now that Rey's powers of perception had been enhanced by her vod's presence.

"Researching the Force, you have been," Yoda observed, looking at both of them. "Discoveries you have made, you think."

Rey immediately became guarded, literally feeling her hackles raise as the Force solidified around her.

"We were learning. Pursing the truth is the Mandalorian way, or so I've been told."

Kenobi and Yoda glanced at each other before Kenobi crossed his arms, and leaned to the side whilst Yoda's ears twitched downwards.

"Dangerous, the Dark Side is."

Rey crossed her arms.

"From my perspective, so is the Light Side," she bit out, just barely stopping herself from snapping. She'd had seven years of lessons on how to not anger people, however, some of them etched permanently into her back, so her tone came out just the right side of polite.

Both Yoda and Kenobi froze at that taking a few seconds to react.

"How so?" Kenobi asked, tilting his head to the side.

Rey wrinkled her nose, her stomach twisting into anxious knots.

It was her turn to look at her companion, the Child helping nudge her thoughts into some semblance of logic. Rey took a second to organise them some more, trying to copy her textbooks' smooth formality and methodical reasoning as much as possible. This needed to be said right.

"From the way I… we understand it," Rey began slowly, choosing her words carefully. "The Light Side is giving and the Dark Side is taking, right?"

Kenobi frowned. "That is a _very_ simplified version of it, yes."

Rey tried not to smirk at the reluctant concession.

"Well we can see why the Dark Side is easily corrupting," Rey told them. "We both know that once people start taking, they only want to take more. That is especially true with power."

She couldn't quite keep the bitter note out of her voice, nor stop herself from running her hands over her arm bindings. The Child put a hand on her calf and she took a deep, slightly shaky, breath.

"However," she continued, shifting her weight to her other leg, "the Light Side can be just as damaging to the user, if they let it be."

Kenobi stayed perfectly still. Yoda's ear twitched.

"If the Dark Side urges you to take from your surroundings until you have killed everything around you, then it would makes sense that complete loyalty to the Light Side could result in you giving too much, until you have nothing left to give and… and die."

Both Yoda and Kenobi jerked at that revelation. Kenobi's shoulders hunched forwards slightly whilst Yoda's ears lowered.

"So, if our conclusion is correct, wouldn't logic then dictate that it would be best not to choose either side completely?"

Kenobi and Yoda were silent again for a few moments before Kenobi took a few steps towards her.

Rey felt his Force signature surround her, hovering just beyond the edges of her shield. She frowned carefully reaching out to meet him. She read the slight question he was gently sending her and hesitantly sent acquiescence back.

A comfortingly heavy weight touched her shoulder.

Rey shifted under it, but projected her agreement to its presence.

Kenobi sighed, his image flickering in front of her, changing to the form of an old man before settling back on the General she knew from her book. Though, if she really looked, she could see that the shadows under his eyes were more pronounced.

"The path that you two have decided to tread is dangerous," he informed her.

Rey and the Child both tensed.

"But," he said before they could say anything. "It is not our job to ensure you tread the exact same path as us."

He looked back at Master Yoda. "Who knows? If the Order was more flexible and open-minded, we may not have run in to the problems that caused our downfall."

Yoda's ears raised slightly and one of them flicked forward.

"Perhaps."

Both ghosts (for the Child's thoughts had informed them that was what they were) were quiet again as they seemed to be focusing on past memories.

A twist of discomfort thrummed across their bond from both ends. This time, though, Rey had an inkling of what to do.

She reached out with her own Force presence, hovering just a little back from Kenobi's shields, close enough to get his attention but not so close as to be imposing.

He tensed but nodded. Rey squeezed his shoulder lightly with the Force.

Kenobi let out a sigh, a small smile playing at his lips before he straightened.

"Right," he announced. "I might see if I can cajole some of the others who preside in the Force with us to see if they can help with your journey. I think it will do you good to hear from those who have tread a more varied path than ours. I might even be able to convince Mace by tomorrow."

"However," he said, pulling his sabre off his belt. "For now, why don't I show you how to use those sabres you just acquired? I think we should move to Soresu after they've learnt Shii-Cho?"

Yoda nodded and the Child and Rey glanced at each other, grinning.

They removed their sabres, which had suddenly appeared by their sides, and ignited them simultaneously, Rey's glowing a familiar blue whilst the Child's slightly shorter sabre shone green.

"I like the enthusiasm," General Kenobi remarked. "Now here are the basic stances…"

\----

Both the Child and Rey were eager to go to sleep the next night. Maz Kanata had warned them against using their lightsabres until some of her guests had moved on, which was scheduled to occur in a few days, and they could utilise one of her private courtyards without fear of anyone discovering them.

As a consequence of these guests, who Rey suspected were some form of smugglers, Conner Rook and Jifo Vrestorr were both busy on guard duty, so Rey and the Child had both spent most of the day reading holobooks about the Force and the many different ways various types of force users had utilised their connection to it over the years.

Both of them headed straight to bed after dinner, diligently practicing the Form 1 drills Obi-Wan had taught them whilst engaging their passive meditation. Obi-Wan had told them that being able to be the 'eye in the storm' was the most crucial step to successfully mastering Soresu.

From there, they progressed to closing their eyes whilst the other threw pillows at them and batting them away with a broom they had found in their room's closet.

When it finally got late enough for them to reasonably go to bed, both of them got ready eagerly, with Rey slipping into a meditation to make herself drowsy.

She reappeared in her dreamscape, grinning as she saw the stars and planets just out of reach.

Obi-Wan was waiting for her on the top of the Razor Crest and Rey climbed up to meet him, resisting the urge to jump up and brush her fingers through the purple gas of the nebula. Instead, she sat down in front of the Jedi Master, trying to match his relaxed yet perfect posture.

Obi Wan nodded slightly at her and Rey reached out with the Force, smiling when she sensed his light approval.

Obi-Wan was even more reserved than Din, and Din wore full body armour literally everywhere. Rey had learnt before the night was done that Obi-Wan expressed his feelings through subtle shifts in the Force which would easily be missed if she didn't keep herself open to it. Being around him was a training exercise in itself.

"Tonight I will teach you how to shield your mind whilst also keeping yourself open to the Force. You and the Child have good rudimentary protection, but any semi-trained Force User will be able to penetrate them and your emotions still leak out often."

Rey braced her shoulders, allowing her lips to twitch up into a smile.

"Let me guess, it involves a lot of meditating and concentrating?"

Obi-Wan's eyes gleamed with his amusement.

"Of a sort."

He reached his arms out, his palms facing upwards.

"The quickest and most effective way is for me to show you," he told her. "But it will require a lot of trust. Our minds will have to meld together."

Rey pressed her lips together but nevertheless slowly reached out to place her hands on top of his. They both closed her eyes and then she could feel Obi-Wan's mind reaching out to her own. He hovered just away from her until she sent her agreement through the Force, but batted her shields away easily when he did move forwards into her own mind.

Rey felt panic instinctively flare up at the intrusion, but General Kenobi smoothed it with his warm, calming presence. He poured some of his power into her defences, working slowly so she could see how he was doing it. Then, guided her past his own shields allowing her to press up against them and feel how they were constructed.

After she was satisfied with what she saw, Rey withdrew into her own mind trying to replicate what she'd seen in Obi-Wan's mind. She funnelled her power into her shield, trying to make it as strong as possible. When she was done, Rey drew back, feeling her head ache slightly, like a muscle after a lot of use.

_'Why don't I test your handiwork?'_ Obi-Wan's voice asked across the Force, a distinct sense of smugness colouring it.

His Force presence pressed up against her shields, running over it, softly probing against it, before he suddenly pushed sharply. Rey's shields held for his next few attacks and she felt herself gritting her teeth as his probes steadily got stronger. She felt her shields thinning under the weight of his blows and poured more power into the vulnerable points.

However, Obi-Wan's attacks were faster than her defences and soon, Obi-Wan broke through her shield, causing a small stab of pain to lace across her temples. Rey hissed, frustration building in her chest.

She wanted to push away from Obi-Wan and go hit something, but that wouldn't help her. She needed to focus.

She took a deep breath, allowing herself to feel the anger and let it motivate her, before she exhaled sending the frustration out and away from her in a burst of energy that sent a small wave through the Force.

Obi-Wan's presence warmed in amusement and approval.

_'It is easier if you imagine it. Here, let me show you.'_

Obi-Wan drew Rey back into his own head and brought a memory to the front of his mind, letting it envelop them both.

Rey's vision adjusted to the light as she realised she was yet again in a foreign body she couldn't control. This body was looking into a mirror and in it, she could see a young boy with short-cropped hair excluding the small braid that was protruding a little longer than the rest of it.

His eyes were red-rimmed and his chest was heaving as Rey felt the remnants of a painful vision echo around his head.

Rey was aware of Obi-Wan's every thought as he spent a few minutes expelling his emotions to the Force only for the fear and pain, from both his own experiences and his vision, leak back into his mind.

It was a vicious cycle that was only broken when a man with long hair entered the fresher, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Obi-Wan's head identified him as his Master, Qui-Gonn Jin.

The Jedi murmured comforting words to his Padawan, who took more reassurance from his master's warm Force presence than the words and touch.

He took a deep breath and Rey saw him imagine building the stone walls of the temple around his mind and felt his shields come up, his imagination reinforcing their effectiveness.

Rey drew back from Obi-Wan, sending him her own wave of gratitude and thanks into the Force for him before she retreated into her own head.

It only took a few moments for her to decide what to construct her shields out of.

Smooth beskar moulded around her mind. Impenetrable even to the strongest lightsabee. She felt it form around her mind, molten metal hardening as her shields strengthened. It flowed across the bond she had with the Child, protecting vulnerabilities she didn't even know she had, until her shields met with the Child's own through the bond, their two beskar shields mixing and solidifying together perfectly.

Rey felt a rush of satisfaction as the push and pull of the Force surrounded her and flowed through her, but her mind was secure, protected from outside attacks.

She opened her eyes, drawing her hands back with a grin.

Obi-Wan did the same, his smile much more restrained but still present. He stood up, reaching out his hand, which she took, and helping Rey to her feet.

"Come. We have a treat for you to watch."

They entered the forest to find the Child and Yoda already waiting there with a bald, dark skinned man standing near them.

"A long time, you two did take," Yoda observed.

_Yeah. Did you have a little trouble over there, vod?_ The Child asked over the bond and Rey sent a spike of irritation at him.

_Shut up._

"Do not tell me how to train Rey. You have your own overpowered Force User to focus on."

The dark skinned man's lips twitched upwards before it resumed its stern expression.

"Rey, this is Master Mace Windu," Obi-Wan introduced. "He will be demonstrating to you Form Seven or Vaapad today."

Rey bowed awkwardly at the severe man. "Nice to meet you General Windu."

The general tilted his head. "Good evening, young one."

Obi-Wan let out a breath and Rey had to supress a wave of amusement at the slight exasperation she felt around him.

"As I was saying, Mace will be demonstrating to you his preferred lightsabre form, whilst I will be showing you how Soresu looks during a fight and Yoda will be exhibiting Ataru."

"I suggest you stand back," General Windu advised.

Both of them heeded his advice as General Windu and Obi-Wan both got out their own lightsabers.

Yoda walked between them as they both activated their weapons - Rey giving a small, fascinated gasp at General Windu's captivating purple saber - and they began when he came to a stop between the Child and Rey.

The duel lasted a long time. Both Jedi were evenly matched, their drastically different styles conflicting in a way that made it impossible for the fight to tip in either's favour but somehow also interlocking perfectly together to make a dance-like exchange, with Windu's aggressive style almost perfectly matching Obi-Wan's defensive expertise.

They moved in a blur, only Rey's memory of the fight on the burning planet and her connection to the Force allowing her to sense the exchange of blows.

The fight came to an end when General Windu used a complicated series of blows that used just as much Force power as lightsaber strikes which resulted in Obi-Wan's saber skittered across the ground. In the next instant, Windu's purple lightsaber was levelled at Obi-Wan's chest.

The general grinned, sharp with satisfaction as Obi-Wan raised his hands. General Windu deactivated his weapon and both of them shared a laugh before Obi-Wan walked over to swap places with Yoda.

Rey closed her eyes and summoned the saber into her hand, handing it to Obi-Wan as he turned to watch the clearing.

General Windu and Yoda's fight started out slow, and they were obviously having some sort of private telepathic conversation.

"What form do would you prefer to use?" Obi-Wan asked quietly as Yoda began to flip around Windu.

The Child gave her his answer across the bond and Rey told Obi-Wan that he liked the Ataru form.

Obi-Wan nodded. "You will need to be able to employ a lot of Force manipulation of your own body to move efficiently. Your small size will help you excel in this style. I have only seen two people who were truly able to use it to its full potential. One of them is fighting in front of you."

Rey tilted her head to the side and Obi-Wan cut a glance at her.

"I will make sure to show you memories of her sometime," he said in answer to her silent question before looking at her expectantly.

Rey frowned as she considered his earlier question.

"Both Vaapad and Soresu seem extremely effective. They're similar to the two styles of fighting that Din has been teaching me. I think they're both very powerful when used correctly but I can see where one may be more useful than the other in certain situations."

Obi-Wan inclined his head forward. "You have chosen to increase your work load, but you are correct. Both it is then."

Rey jerked her head around to look at him. "Wait what?"

\------

The next day passed much the same as the previous one and Rey was again glad to fall asleep the following night. She missed Din less when she was occupied by her training.

"I feel like I'm relaxing more when I'm awake," Rey said in lieu of a greeting.

However the small smile she had on her face dropped when she realised Obi-Wan wasn't the only one waiting for her in her mindscape when she got there. A man was standing next to him in a darker version of his beige and white robes and armour.

A man with light brown hair and scar across his right eye.

She recognised him immediately.

In an instant, Rey had her lightsaber in her hands, the Force around her rearing up sharply.

"Get out," she commanded.

The man in front of her grimaced. "The story's not as simple as you think it is."

"I don't care," she snapped, tightening her grip on her weapon. "Get out."

Without thinking about it, she infused her last two words with power from the Force, making them come out louder and causing a wave of energy to slam into the man. He was knocked onto his back and the blast had been so unrestrained that the edges of it had caught Obi-Wan, pushing him back a few steps. Rey held her ground.

The man cast a sorrowful look at her before he faded away into light.

Rey glanced over at Obi-Wan as she sheathed her lightsaber and clipped it onto her belt.

"Sorry," she muttered, referring to how her power had hit him with her power, but her words still came out harsh and biting.

"It is I who should be sorry, my dear. I did tell him that it was too soon."

Rey stiffened. "I don't want to see him again."

Obi-Wan turned his gaze to her and she was struck by the swirling storm of grey with hints of blue and green kaleidoscoped through his eyes, almost as if they were a window to his connection to the Force.

"It is a very complicated situation."

Rey tore her gaze away from his eyes, glaring at the ground.

"I don’t care. There are some things that cannot be forgiven."

Obi-Wan's lips twitched down and he sat in the sand.

"Come sit with me."

Rey did just that whilst they copied their position from the two nights ago.

"Are you going to show me some of your memories?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "You seem to learn faster from them. And you did want to learn everything you could about me."

Rey ducked her head, "The books described yours and Commander Cody's and your troopers' missions very heroically."

"Well don't you want to see if they're true?"

Rey rolled her eyes, but opened her mind up and allowed herself to be pulled into Obi-Wan's memories.

He started from when he was a boy, when he was learning how to hold a lightsaber and being hit by his first visions. He jumped around a lot, obviously only stopping on points he found important. It was strange, absorbing so many experiences from his perspective without having the same bond as she did with the Child.

It was so personal, so intimate, that Rey felt completely stripped raw. Obi-Wan showed her the most emotional aspects of his life, which mostly showed her how much he held himself back, how much control he exhibited over himself in an attempt to be perfect. Especially after the Melida-Dan incident.

Important figures in his life appeared most frequently. Qui-Gon Jin fading into a small former-slave boy named Anakin Skywalker as the most important person in his life. Rey watched Obi-Wan struggle with his love for the boy and his devotion to the Jedi Order, especially as the two attachments became more and more conflicting. She watched him grow up and she felt Obi-Wan's pride as he overcame his adversities and rose to a Knight with unprecedented swiftness. She did not know if she would have been able to dismiss her bitterness so quickly at being snubbed for someone so much younger and more talented, let alone train that person.

Yet all Obi-Wan felt was a determination to do better, to be better.

Rey watched as the boy struggled, Obi-Wan peppering in a few of the boy's memories that he must have gathered after their deaths. Ones of a creepy old man manipulating him, of the boy's own struggles with his mother and his background.

Rey found herself relating to him as he grew. It took her embarrassingly long to connect them. To be fair, the scar was distracting. And the eyes were very different. It seemed impossible that such a captivating sky blue could darken to gold.

She wrenched away from Obi-Wan, jumping to her feet and pacing away from him.

"You're trying to make me feel sympathy for him!"

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "And if I am?"

"Stop trying to make me forgive him! I don't care what happened! What he did was unforgiveable. No matter the circumstances."

Obi-Wan inclined his head forward. "It is good that your morals are so strong."

"Why are you showing me this?"

Obi-Wan's eyes hardened, his shoulders tensing. "So you don't make the same mistakes I did!"

Rey froze. She had never heard him yell. Not at her.

She knew that it had only been a few days, and had just seen his rambunctious childhood, but Obi-Wan always radiated such a serene energy, thrumming with so much Light, that she had instinctively thought it impossible for him to be so unreserved.

His shoulders slumped and he sighed. That was somehow worse. An angry Obi-Wan was unnerving, but Rey was used to anger. A defeated Obi-Wan made her heart sink. 

"We are very similar, you and I. In fact, it is funny how much of a mix between Annakin and I you are."

Obi-Wan swallowed before he looked up into her own stormy grey eyes, his ones shining.

"I trusted too blindly in my superiors. I did not think independently enough and that resulted in many of my closest relationships being fractured. At the same time, I distanced myself too much and did not communicate well which hurt my loved ones just as much."

Rey did not know what to say to that confession. So, she only sat back down in front of him and offered her palms, faced downwards.

Obi-Wan stiffened in surprise before he took her offer.

The Clone Wars were just as heroic as her novels described, though far more morally questioning and dirty and tragic. Rey felt Obi-Wan's helplessness as everything slipped away. He made sure to pepper in some of Anakin's memories of the Darkness consuming his thoughts, how his vulnerable state left him exposed to the corrupting aspect of the Dark Side until it twisted his every thought and emotion, consuming his soul.

When Obi-Wan had finished, with him fading just before Darth Vader's lightsaber could strike him, Rey sat back.

Obi-Wan didn't say anything, just stared hollowly at a point in the sand.

Rey settled a weight on his shoulders with the Force, hoping to emulate his comforting presence.

Obi-Wan looked to her and pulled her into a hug.

"You can call him back," Rey murmured into his shoulder.

Obi-Wan pulled away. "You don't have to."

Rey expelled her remaining rage into the Force.

"I know, but you want him here. And I could learn a lot from him."

Obi-Wan gazed into her grey and blue eyes, assessing.

"I'll call him," he said eventually.

When Anakin solidified back into existence, he was looking at Rey in trepidation as she marched up to him.

Sky blue eyes met stormy grey ones. A familiar scene.

"I don't forgive you," she stated clearly. "But I understand the circumstances of your decisions and I understand that you are different now."

The man actually wilted at her proclamation.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Rey arched an eyebrow. "I just said I _don't_ forgive you."

"I know, and I don't deserve it."

Rey stared at him in shock, both of them frozen, until Obi-Wan broke the silence by activating his lightsaber.

"Come," he announced. "We still have a while to go before you will wake."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how many of you can tell who my favourite character from the prequels is?
> 
> Mando'a Translation: 
> 
> Hut'uuna = coward
> 
> Ne ade = my child
> 
> mir'baar'ur = mind healer
> 
> Mirjahaal = mental health
> 
> Hey guys, so how did you like it?
> 
> To anyone who is reading this. Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies I have made in Star Wars canon. Or if you want to, we can initiate a philosophical discussion on how the Force works. 
> 
> Or, you can ask or message me on my tumblr, rose-thorn-14. I will answer you on there.
> 
> Thank you to everyone reading this! Especially my supportive commenters!
> 
> IF YOU READ THE NOTE AT THE START OF THE CHAPTER THERE IS NO NEED TO READ THIS NOTE.
> 
> Okay. So I realise that I am touching on some heavily contested topics within the Fandom. Both to do with characters and with canon Force Science. Please know that many of these views are conclusions that I believe would likely be drawn by the characters given their personalities and the information they have available to them at their current time. 
> 
> What i am trying to say is warning for Grey Jedi philosophy discussion. I do not necessarily agree with what Rey says about the Grey Side of the Force in this chapter, however she is working on limited information. It will be rectified later (specifically Chapter 16).
> 
> Ok. You can go on now. Once again, if you want to, please comment. I can guarantee they will be appreciated and will make my day. No matter how stupid. And I will get around to answering them once I've actually caught up with my homework and with my writing schedule.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter.


	8. From the perspective of a(nother) Mandalorian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also known as Maz Kanata is a Chaotic Good masquerading as Chaotic Neutral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates may have to move down to once a week for a while. I'm in my last year of high school and tests are ramping up. I'm so sorry. 
> 
> I should be able to keep up once a week though.
> 
> Mando'a translation at the end

Jifo watched with critical eyes as the two children entered the bar, the little green one balancing on the girl's shoulder. They hadn't appeared for breakfast that day, but Maz Kanata had told them not to worry and urged them to finish their last guard shift and wait for them.

Conner and Jifo had agreed last night that they had been remiss in their duties over their past few days. They had both watched the children and made sure they were safe, even standing guard at their door in the night, but they're demanding jobs as guards had meant that they weren't free to properly interact with their tribemate's ade. They hadn't even made sure they were doing combat training. Not that the extensive reading Conner and Jifo had seen them doing wasn't also important. But life was all about balance.

Now, though, they could start amending their mistake, since Maz Kanata had informed them this morning that she had re-organised their guard duties to only focus on protecting the children. Apparently, she couldn't have 'those she had claimed protection over' harmed. Jifo new she was just doing them a favour. He would have to pay her back some day.

Jifo jerked from his thoughts as Conner swung an arm around his shoulders.

"Come on, Jif. Let's go see what Djarin's ade are made of."

He didn't bother to supress his sigh as he was lead over to the round table.

Both children snapped their heads towards them as they sat down, pausing they're reading.

"What have you got there?" Conner asked.

The girl - Rey - glanced at her brother before straightening her shoulders and looking at them.

"He's reading about symbols used throughout Mandalorian history. I'm reading about the different designs of lightsabers."

Jifo smiled. "It's good to see that Din is so dedicated to your bajur, and that you two are ready to learn."

Conner scowled at the subtle jab. "Bajur involves more than just academics, mir'sheb. We have yet to see their combat and other survival skills."

The children glanced warily at each other.

Conner barked out a laugh as he leaned forward. "Nervous, ade?"

Jifo rolled his eyes. "Kriff of gar osik'ika."

He turned back to Jifo. "Have you eaten?"

Rey shrugged. "We were just going to wait till lunch since we got up so late."

Jifo could sense Conner getting ready to make a smartass comment about that, so he kicked him under the table.

"Why don't we get a snack and then we can go to the training yard? Maz Kanata says its free now."

Both of the kids immediately perked up at that, and nodded enthusiastically, Rey already picking up her staff, which was resting against the table whilst the Child closed his book and jumped up onto her shoulder.

Both Conner and Jifo took a second to blink at that. He was pretty sure the Child shouldn't have been able to move like that.

Rey gathered the two holobooks into her free arm and glanced up at them.

"Are you ready to go?"

\----

Which was how Jifo found himself showing a pre-teen girl the best ways to hold a vibro-blade when fighting in close quarters. Conner was sitting beside the Child on a bench off to the side, both of them watching with rapt attention.

"Now show me," he commanded, proceeding to take a step back.

He examined Rey critically as she carried out a series of different strikes and stabs, shifting her grip on the vibro blade from forward to reverse between strikes. Her movements were awkward at first, as she struggled to smoothly rotate the blade in her grip, but they became easier after she practiced a few times and steadily sped up her strikes as she gained more confidence.

He nodded and grinned once he was satisfied.

"Good job," he praised, quietly marvelling at her ability to focus.

He didn't remember being this dedicated when he was her age. But then again, Din was always the most motivated of them. Jifo knew that he had always felt like a bit of an outsider, even amongst the other foundlings, and that it had motivated him to work so hard that he was one of the best warriors in their Tribe when they got assigned to it.

He hoped that these foundlings would be good for him.

Conner shifted on the bench, grunting as he crossed his arms.

"What are you two grinning about?"

Jifo refocused back on his waiting student, who shrugged.

Rey quickly glanced away from where she had been sharing a look with the Child, shrugging. "We… I mean I was just thinking about how useful this move would be with larger weapons."

"Well, yes," Conner answered thoughtfully in a tone that Jifo was very familiar with. "Being able to shift grips with a larger blade would make your moves more unpredictable to your opponent, which is always a boon. This is, of course, provided you have enough room to manoeuvre them. It's always better to use those vibroblades if you're pressed for space."

Rey listened to him, nodding as she took in the information.

Jifo leaned his head to the side and crossed. "Would the weapon you were talking about happen to be one of those weird devices I saw Maz Kanata hand Din and tell him it was 'meant for you'?"

Rey's eyes flickered away from his. "Maybe."

Conner laughed. "You're going to have to work on your lying, verd'ika. Even I thought it was obvious."

Rey ducked her head in embarrassment.

Conner pushed himself up off the bench and walked up to Jifo, resting an elbow on his shoulder.

"Well, why don't you show us a few of your moves?"

Rey rubbed the back of her neck. "I haven't really been trained… I only know a few basic drills."

"We'd be happy to see them," Jifo assured her. "As long as you're comfortable with it."

Rey cut a glance towards the Child and shrugged again before she stepped back and unclipped the weird metal cylinder from her belt.

"If you want…"

The girl took a few steps back and then suddenly there was a beam of blue light hovering in front of her face from the base of her cylinder.

Jifo and Conner both gasped.   


"That's a - " Jifo began before trailing off.

"Lightsaber," Rey confirmed with a nod.

Jifo stared at it with wide eyes. He'd only ever seen paintings of them before, and only a handful of those at that.

Conner whistled. "You really are Jedi."

"Force Users," Rey corrected almost immediately. "We're not sure about the Jedi rules just yet."

Conner snorted. "Spoken like a true Mandalorian. What are you waiting for, kid? Show us what you got."

Rey nodded, closing her eyes as she brought the lightsaber up with both her hands so that the hilt was level with her right temple.

Jifo held his breath, somehow knowing he was about to see something great.

Suddenly, there was a bang as one of the doors leading to the private courtyard opened.

Rey tensed and Jifo and Conner spun around, Jifo only letting out his breath when he glimpsed the familiar armour.

"Paz," he greeted mildly whilst Conner strode over to the man, hands out to hug him.

"Vizla!"

The heavy infantry verd allowed himself to be briefly embraced by his former tribemate.

"What are you doing here?" Jifo asked.

Paz was one of the few of their tribemates who hadn't had to abandon his armour, fighting his way off world successfully.

Paz crossed his arms. "I got to the Core and I've been doing a series of missions for them, but my ship got destroyed. I came here because I knew it was the best place to find an untraceable ship without inciting a load of rumours. Maz told me that you had found a way back to the Core. She said that you were out here training Din's foundlings. Plural."

Conner grinned swept a hand behind him. "Paz Vizla, may I introduce you to Rey and the Child. Din's ade."

Jifo could feel the waves of smugness role off of his companion. Paz and Din had always had a contentious relationship. They were practically cousins since Paz's uncle had brought Din in and Paz had been moved to train in their Outpost for the last few years before they turned eighteen and were assigned their tribes. Although, they're relationship wasn't always harmonious or even friendly.

Conner hadn't liked the way that Paz always tried to engage Din in competitions the foundling didn't want but felt honour bound to engage in. Even if he and Paz were generally pretty good friends.

Rey, who Jifo noticed had deactivated her lightsaber but not put it away, nodded respectfully at Paz whilst the Child waved.

Paz stepped forward.

"What were you doing before I came in here?"

"Rey was about to show us some of her lightsaber techniques and Force User powers," Jifo informed him bluntly. It wasn't like they could hide it.

"Force?"

Conner snorted. "You heard him right. Trust Din to find the most promising foundlings ever."

Rey looked down, and Jifo grinned knowing that she was supressing a smile of her own.

Paz crossed his arms again. "Well, don't stop on my account."

Rey hesitated, but resumed her stance with the disactivated weapon in both hands out in front of her when both Jifo and Conner turned to look at her.

Once again, Jifo didn't see what she did to activate the saber, but one moment she was holding a metal cylinder, the next a beam of blue light had sprouted out of it.

Rey repeated her previous action, lifting the saber up so the hilt hovered beside her temple, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. After a short pause, Rey exhaled and began moving through a series of slow, measured drills, steadily speeding up until the hum of the lightsaber filled the air and the blade began to blur at the edges.

Rey went on for a few minutes, moving around through her drills before she ended with a spin, her lightsaber coming up to block an imaginary attack at before she swung it down and around in a hooking strike that would have caught an unprepared opponent right in the ribs.

She stopped moving, seemingly listening for or too something for a few moments before she nodded and resumed her original stance, holding the lightsaber blade just in front of her nose before deactivating it.

The girl calmly clipped her weapon back onto her asymmetrical brown leather belt and looked to the three adults in front of her to gauge their reactions.

Jifo blinked, startled to realise that he hadn't actually registered many of her moves, too distracted by the fluid dance of the glowing light.

"You have good form," Conner complimented.

Paz nodded in agreement. "You, of course, require more practice to get that smoothness that will make you ready for battle, but you have the basics down pact pretty well."

Rey bowed her head. "Thank you… I'm more experienced with my spear."

Paz and Conner glanced at each other, Paz's helmet tilting thoughtfully whilst Conner grinned widely.

They both looked back at Rey as Conner walked over to a rack with a bunch of weapons on it and picked up two spears, tossing one to Paz.

"Well then, by all means, show us," Paz implored as he caught the weapon.

\-----

Conner took pride in the sweat dripping from Rey's head and the tired way she slumped her shoulders on the way to lunch.

_Kad Ha'rangir_ he hadn't thought training ade would be this satisfying. It made him feel a little better about being stuck protecting them instead of out in the galaxy, earning money for the Core and actually being useful.

"Right, let's get some food into you," Conner ordered as Rey picked up her staff, tilting it sideways so the Child could grab onto the top from his position on the bench, before she rotated it so it was facing vertical and the Child could slide down onto her shoulder.

"I have just the right thing in mind."

Jifo snapped his head towards him, glaring at him.

"Conner…"

Conner waved his hand. "Don't worry, Jifo. My plan won’t kill them… probably."

Jifo rolled his eyes - something that looked truly weird on the pupil-less eyes of a Nautolan - but just grumbled under his breath as they walked inside.

Conner grinned at the ade's twin sceptical expressions as he placed the dishes down in front of them on the table.

He'd gotten one for all of them except Paz, who he knew would eat whenever he decided to get some private time in his room. That was one of the few things he didn't miss about wearing his helmet all the time. Eating alone.

"What is that?" Rey asked, the sharp twitch of the Child's ear punctuating her unimpressed tone.

The curry in front of them was practically glowing red.

"Spice is an essential part of Mandalorian culture," Conner informed them. "Practically every dish you get on the Core will have some sort of heat to it. Even some of the deserts."

Rey frowned. "Din said he was easing us into the spice. Helping us get used to it slowly."

"As he should," Paz agreed. "There's no use burning your tongues off."

Conner scowled. "The only way to get them used to it is to hit them fast and hard with it. My ba'buir put spice in our milk as soon as we were old enough and I was eating janad'shya food than any of you when we got to the Outpost."

Paz stilled and years of being forced to read body language for the tiniest clues told Conner that other Mandalorian was glaring at him. Conner smirked and Paz's shoulders lifted slightly, tensing.

If they were at an outpost or the Core, he probably would have taken a swing at him. Conner wished he would. He wanted to blow off some steam. A friendly spar was one of the two best ways to take the edge off.

After a second, Paz leaned back.

"Why don't we ask our resident foundling?" he finally decided turning his head to Conner's companion. "Jifo?"

Conner snorted. Trust the heir to Clan Vizla to be diplomatic. The Vizlas (and the Mandalorians as a whole, really) had learnt the hard and bloody way the importance of temperance and the balance between passion and logic.

Nevertheless, Conner looked to Jifo, a smile tugging at his lips. He already know how his cyare would answer.

Jifo grimaced.

"As much as I hate to feed Conner's ego, I have to say going hard and fast is the right way to go in this situation."

He turned to the children, ignoring Conner's triumphant smirk.

"Getting used to spice was a slow and painful process, but once I just decided to give in and eat the spiciest dishes I could, it took maybe a week before I was actually enjoying it."

Rey's eyebrows furrowed. "Enjoying?"

Jifo smiled. "Yeah, I know, but it really happened. It's like Stockholm Syndrome but with food."

Rey's lips twitched up at that and some of the tension released from her shoulders. Something warm ignited in Conner's chest and he couldn't help the slow smile that pulled at his lips.

Rey and the Child glanced at each other before they both stared at the few for a few seconds.

Conner marvelled at their synchrony as they picked up the spoons.

"There's no use delaying pain that we're gonna have to endure anyway," Rey said, the Child's ears flicking upwards in agreement.

With that, they tucked in.

All three of them leaned in as the children brought the spoons to their mouths.

Conner felt his grin widen as they reacted in surprised delight as the delicious flavour hit them first, both of them perking up as small smiles pulled at their lips.

He could tell the exact moment that the spice kicked in.

Both children froze, their smiles falling from their faces as fire no doubt started to spread across their mouths. The Child's spoon clattered to the table as he lunged forward for one of the cups of milk that Conner had also brought to the table. Rey placed her spoon on the table so the dirty head was on the plate and closed her eyes, a small grimace twisting her face.

"That bad?" Conner asked as he casually took bite.

He received an elbow from each side, swift and sharp, but neither Paz nor Jifo could really hid their amusement effectively.

Paz didn't even try to, tilting his chin up as he crossed his arms. Conner was sure he was grinning like a mad man under the helmet.

Jifo at least attempted to appear chastising but the way his lips twitched betrayed him. Conner smirked at him and Jifo shot him a glare with no heat before turning back to the children.

"It helps if you take sips of milk in between bites," he told them.

Rey nodded, taking his advice and managing to make it just over half way through the meal before she pushed her plate away, her eyes wet as tears began roll down her cheeks.

The Child had given up after much less, although he had still eaten more than Conner expected due to his size.

"Why don't you go grab whatever books you want to study?" Jifo suggested lightly. "I'm sure between the three of us, we can help explain anything about our people that you need help with."

The kids nodded and the Child hopped up onto Rey's shoulder as she stood, jumping with a height and accuracy no baby could have achieved.

Conner narrowed his eyes. That little _sheb_ was going to train with them tomorrow.

If he'd felt bad about the stunt he'd just pulled, Conner wouldn't have after _that_ display.

"They both like reading?" Paz asked, surprise and a hint of approval colouring his low voice.

Jifo nodded. "They spent all of the last two days reading out here whilst we stood watch at the front door."

"Even the little one?"

Jifo nodded again.

Paz's helmet tilted downwards. "I thought he was just a baby when Din picked him up."

Conner shrugged. "Well he seems old enough to be the equivalent of about eight or nine now. Maybe older, some of the crap he was reading was pretty dense."

"I didn't know his species advanced so quickly," Jifo remarked in an airy voice.

Conner snorted. "I don't know _anything_ about his species and I doubt you do, vod."

Jifo paused, frowned, and then inclined his head forward, conceding the point. Conner tried and failed to not grin triumphantly. It was rare he actually _won_ an argument against Jifo.

"What are they interested in?" Paz questioned, looking at Jifo.

If Conner hadn't grown up with them, he would be insulted at being dismissed so.

"They seem to be focusing on anything Mandalorian or Force related. Although, I've caught the Child looking at a few music books and Rey reading a some about mechanics. Maz has given them free access to her library," Jifo answered.

Paz tilted his head to the side. "Do you think they'd be interested in Mandalorian armour and weapons? I think I have a few books about them downloaded onto chips."

Jifo nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely. I heard her claim to the Child at breakfast yesterday that Maz didn't have any information about them directly from Mandalore."

Paz snorted. "I should hope not. Not even the Empire managed to get those secrets. We made sure any information about shaping beskar was destroyed. Even my own chips, which are just about designs have encryptions and failsafes that can only be circumvented by one of Clan Vizla."

Conner frowned. His clan, House Rook was now allied to House Kryze. He knew how closely the head clans of houses kept their secrets.

Paz straightened as he sensed his confusion.

"My uncle made it very clear that Djarin is an honorary member of Clan Vizla, even if he does not bare out name. It only makes sense that that honour extends to his ade as well."

With that, Paz gave a nod and stood up.

Conner winced. Anyone who was a born Mandalorian around their age had heard of the great upheaval that happened in House Vizla after Kel Vizla had claimed the young foundling in every way but officially. Since the leader of House Vizla was childless, the next in line had previously been his nephew, but if Kel had adopted Din, Din would have circumvented Paz as heir as was Mandalorian law.

As it happened, Kel never performed the gai bal manda on Din. Conner never knew why, and he suspected that only Din and those in Clan Vizla knew the true reason, but the wild rumours had followed them even when they were assigned to their training Outpost a few months after Din had been saved.

Conner's gut twisted at the uncomfortable reminder that that was probably why Din never really connected to any of them.

_Kad Ha'rangir,_ he hated when he was reminded of it. After all, he had whispered behind Din's back as much as the rest of them.

He was broken from his thoughts as Jifo leaned closer to him.

"You're a good teacher," he murmured.

Conner felt the tension in his shoulders loosening.

"I thought you'd be angry at me for the spice thing."

Jifo's lips twitched. "They do need to be able to at least tolerate spice by the time they get to the Core if they want to fit in. Ha'rangir knows they'll already be getting a lot of trouble with the whole Jedi business… Besides, you remembered to bring them milk."

Conner jerked back a little with a gasp as pretended to be offended.

"I was going for strict, not psychopathic."

Jifo snorted, shaking his head, his tentacles bouncing as he dissolved into laughter.

Conner laughed along with him and leaned back in towards the Nautolan.

"Besides," he went on, a smile pulling at his mouth, "you're the one who's really good with them. You're amazing at calming Rey down."

Since their heads were so close together, Conner only saw one of Jifo's cheeks darken under the praise.

Another thing he didn't miss about being a Verde, now he got to see as much of Jifo's face as he wanted, whenever he wanted. He'd missed it in the years they'd been in the Nevarro Enclave. The only ones Verde were allowed to take their helmets off for were their clan, or when they were on the Core. And Jifo and Conner hadn't undertaken the Riduurok yet. Jifo's armour had been particularly restrictive and covering, since the modified shape needed to cover his tentacles as well.

Conner smiled to himself as they lapsed into silence. Forcing those kids to have spicy food was the best idea he'd had in weeks.

\----

Conner took that thought back hours later.

They'd just finished dinner, Rey having choked down almost three quarters of her meal this time, even though there were tears streaming down her face and she'd had to blow her nose a few times.

"You don't have to eat anymore, if you don't want to," Jifo informed her gently.

Paz gave a hum of assent.

"No," Rey assured them. "I want more. It's really good. It just burns."

The Child gave a shaky chirp as he nodded, his tiny hand trembling around his spoon. His ears were twitching up and down.

All three of the older Mandalorians snorted.

"I told you," Jifo said, shaking his head.

Conner laughed and Paz poured them more milk.

Just then. Something at Rey's hip beeped loudly.

The girl immediately perked up, the pain in her mouth seeming to have been forgotten as she pulled out a holo-com.

She activated and set it on the table. A moment later, Din's upper body appeared in front of them.

"Ad'ikas," he greeted, before he broke off.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.

Both of the kids froze. Conner grimaced. There were a few seconds of silence.

"Rook decided to introduce them to spice the hard and fast way," Paz announced, getting up and walking around to stand behind them. "For the record, I was against it."

Din went dangerously still.

"Paz," he said, inclining his head forward formally.

Rey frowned, glancing between them.

"We wanted to do it," Rey assured Din. "It's easier to just get it out of the way than to prolong building up our tolerance."

Din's gaze refocused on his children as the Child nodded at him.

"Okay… I was just contacting you to say that this is the only time you'll hear from me before I'm back. The asteroid cluster I had to navigate blocked my signal and the rest of my journey will be underground. I shouldn't be more than a week."

Rey nodded and smiled and the Child held out a hand to the image, his ears raising.

"You should be heading off to bed," Din told them after a few moments of staring at them. "I'm sure Conner, Jifo and Paz will be making you work hard. Don't push yourselves too much, especially with your Force Powers."

Both children nodded dutifully and Conner could tell Rey spoke for both of them when she said, "Yes, Din."

She paused for a second. "I miss you… We both miss you."

Din sighed.

"I miss you too Rey'ika bal adiik."

Conner marvelled at his soft tone. He'd never heard Din so gentle.

"Goodnight ad'ikas," Din said, an obvious dismissal.

"Goodnight Din."

With that, the children left.

When they were out of earshot, Din turned to Conner.

Conner's stomach dropped at the tense set of Din's shoulders.

"Rook…"

\-----

The first thing Djarin did after greeting his children when he was back was kick Rook's ass. As was his right.

Paz watched in quiet approval as Din thoroughly ground Conner into the ground, sometimes literally, as his children watched on in awe at the messy staff fight Din had challenged Conner to under the guise of a demonstration. Though Conner had perhaps been correct, he had stepped over the line in willingly bringing the ade pain without first at least consulting Djarin about it.

Once Djarin was satisfied, he'd helped his very sore but not injured opponent up and slapped a hand on his shoulder, his anger appeased and their conflict forgotten.

They were off very soon after that, all of them packing up and piling into Din's ship. Paz examined it whilst the others got settled in. Since Jifo and Conner had elected to take the floor, he got the last remaining bunk on the Razor Crest, but he stored his pack and weapons in one of the many little compartments hidden on the ship.

He sat suspiciously in the one passenger seat as they got ready for take-off. Rey was in the pilot's seat whilst Din was in the co-pilot's, the Child resting on his shoulder.

The girl's take off was surprisingly smooth, especially considering the fact that it was her first time.

Din sat near, ready to jump in if anything went horribly wrong but not in an overbearing way. His voice was calm and steady as he quietly directed Rey through the right movements whenever she seemed to falter, asking her questions that tested her knowledge and prodding her gently in the right direction all the way.

He was a good teacher. He was a good father.

Paz had seen as the kids had sprinted over to him and the way he had enveloped them both in tight hugs. He doesn't think he'd ever seen Din so happy, and the children had certainly been more cheerful.

Din glanced back at Paz once they'd gotten passed the atmosphere.

"You mentioned something about a mission from the Council before we head to the Core?"

Paz nodded. "A report came in last night. A Tribe compromised their position on Nordis Prime to save an orphanage from an Empire attack. The Council already managed to scrounge up transport for them. But, many of them are injured and they requested back up. And since we're already in the Tashtor Sector…"

Din nodded. Paz could see the tight set of his shoulders that mirrored the tension he himself felt.

Every victory came with a price. It seemed that for every success, there was a dozen failures. An Enclave that needed to be abandoned, more brothers dead.

Even after over twenty years of so-called peace, his people were still being hunted, being crushed into nothingness by the Empire.

Paz shut his eyes before he could be consumed by his worry.

He had to trust that the sacrifice was worth it. And, deep down, he knew that this time it was.

Their children were everything. Their future, their legacy. Protecting them and building a better world for them was of the utmost importance.

Opening his eyes again, and watching as Din quietly and calmly guided Rey through setting their co-ordinates, even letting the Child push a few buttons, he knew that he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, Paz is canonically the guy who tried to take Din's helmet off in episode three, but also the guy with the cool gun in the middle of the street and the one in the jetpack at the end of the episode who saluted Din (I think that's what he did, I can't really remember).
> 
> Mando'a translation
> 
> Ade= children 
> 
> Bajur = Education
> 
> Mir'sheb = smartass
> 
> gar osik'ika = little shit
> 
> Verd'ika = little warrior/little shoulder *it can mean other things but that's what it means in that context - in which it is being used as an affectionate term*
> 
> Verd = warrior
> 
> Kad Ha'rangir = Main Mandalorian god. They symbolise change.
> 
> ba'buir = grandparent 
> 
> janad'shya = more spice *this is a mashup word that I extrapolated from what I have available of the Mando'a dictionary*
> 
> Cyare = beloved
> 
> Sheb = general insult/expletive, ass/shit
> 
> Vod = sibling/mate *like Australians*
> 
> Ad'ikas = little ones
> 
> Rey'ika bal adiik = Little Rey and Child
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter.


	9. Mandalorians were never meant to be pacifists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gratuitous Violence

Rey breathed out.

She was sat, legs crossed, on a cushion in the middle of the room that she and the Child had been assigned aboard their cruiser.

The twenty-five or so orphans that had been saved were set up in the main entertainment wing whilst three quarters of the thirty-man Tribe were holed up in the medical wing pf the old Republic senatorial transporter they were on. The rest were spread across the double rooms that made up most of the ship's inside space.

Rey had never been on a ship so big, though that wasn't saying much. She, still, marvelled at the sought of ship that was able to transport the Razor Crest with it just by having it docked against it.

A few items were laid out on the floor in front of her. Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, her datapad with the first holonovel chip Din had given her loaded into it, some parts of HK-54 that she was puzzling over and her weapons: her spear, dagger and blaster.

Finally, there was a holobook resting against the floor. An ancient tome written by a Force User long ago. It had been part of the short stack that Maz Kanata had handed to her, telling her to read them first before going through the three huge crates of chips and books and things called holocrons.

The book was titled 'There is Only the Force' and was written like a diary from a very cranky Force User who was resentful of the burgeoning Jedi and Sith movements within the galaxy.

Rey had read over one of her favourite entries more than half a dozen times.

"These new factions of Force Users are upsetting the balance." It began.

"There is so much talk of the Light Side and the Dark Side, so much  belief that they are changing the very nature of the Force. The remnants they leave inside it are warping it. 

The Force is just as it says it is: the Force. It is the connection between everything: past, present and future. There should be no separation in it except for perhaps between the Unifying Force and the Living Force, yet even then only to describe different abilities and help further understand our connection to the universe.

The Dark seeks too much power. They have warped the force with their greed and now their powers breed corruption. The faction who claim they wield the Light has responded to this by shielding. 

Right now, it seems like a perfectly acceptable response, but I know. I know eventually those shields will be their downfall. The Darkness will reach out too much and the Light side will build its shields higher until it can no longer sense the Force as it truly should be. 

Mark my words. 

The Dark Side will take everything from this universe and the Light Side will give and give until it disappears.

The sides can thrive on their own, but they must learn temperance or their ideals will be their downfall. 

Balance. There must be Balance.

I fear there will not be for a very long time. 

There are different ways to access the Force, I concede, some more difficult or more out of control than others, but the light and dark aspects come from what you do with your power and how you interact with the Force, not anything else.

In the back of the book, after the Force User had exhausted themselves ranting, there was one last passage that struck Rey down to the bone.

The Force has been irrevocable changed, I regret to announce, but there is still a way to truly be one with it.

In response to the Light and Dark tenets, so focused on eradicating each other, I propose my own tenets. For the Grey Force Users (and how ridiculous is that? The prospect that there are sides to the force)

'There is no light, without the dark.

Through passion, I gain focus.

Through knowledge, I gain power.

Through serenity, I gain strength

Through victory, I gain harmony. 

There is only the Force.'

I must remember what it truly means to be a Force User. To allow the Force to flow through me and to not let myself get overwhelmed by my desires. Temperance yet emotion. Passion, yet peace. Chaos, yet order. But most of all Balance. 

Balance allows them all to exist as one in harmony.

Balance.

Rey loved their grouchiness and the way it conveyed their lessons.

It made her think.

Now, a few hours into their multiple day journey, Rey was sitting down to meditate for the first time since reading it.

She closed her eyes, sinking down and opening herself up to the Force. She felt the rush of energy around her, like a tide, pushing and pulling. Instinctively, Rey dug into herself, her feet burying themselves in the sand that grounded her to herself.

Rey clenched her fists as she felt the surge and ebb of the Force around her, trying to dislodge, to pull her away. A warm current against a cold one, each going in different directions.

No. That was wrong. This was wrong.

Rey took another deep breath.

There is only the Force. 

There must be balance. 

Rey let go, the walls she had desperately shored up to stop herself from being torn apart by the two sides, crumbling down.

For a moment, Rey was overwhelmed, caught in the riptide. She wanted to draw back in, to bury herself back in the ground.

Instead, Rey let go even further, expanding her awareness even further.

She ignored the conflicting tides, holding onto to the connection she felt to everything around her, grasping the feeling she had felt when the Child first opened their bond.

And suddenly she was floating. She was no longer being pulled apart by opposing current. No, now she was drifting in space. She was a star floating in the abyss, connected by the gravity and energy that linked the whole universe together.

And that's when it clicked. This was the Force.

It was the connection between everything. The tension and balance that bound it all together.

Rey could feel it.

She sat there, immersing herself in the feeling.

Distantly, she could still feel the sides, the way people have manipulated and warped the Force. But they were just that. Sides. Ideas. A violent twist seeking power and a pulling back and separation in a response to it, to try and fight it. They were so ingrained that they had carved their own places in the power of the universe.

But they were not the Force. They were just aspects of it.

She did not need them.

There is only the Force. 

I am one with the Force. 

I am the Force. 

Rey allowed herself to drift for some time after that, letting the flow of the Force course through her.

When she came back to herself, Rey felt more at peace than she ever had before, filled with a calm and certainty and connection. She did not need to worry about the sides of this struggle. There were no sides. Not ones that mattered.

The only things that mattered were her family and doing the right thing. And balance.

Rey felt a distinct sense of smugness filter into her head. The Child had known this truth all along.

Rey scowled.

You could have told me. 

The Child's ears lowered. Sorry.

Rey shook her head. No. You were right. I needed to figure it out myself.

Balance.

Rey nodded. Balance.

They shared a charged moment, the bond surging as they gathered the Force around them, ready to be directed and used if necessary.

Then, they let it go and the Child's presence was once again tinged with amusement. His ears twitched upwards.

Rey narrowed her eyes.

Womp rat. 

With that, Rey swept her things into the pack that she'd brought on board and summoned the lightsaber into her hand, setting it in the small nook in the wall just next to her head.

Then, she sunk into sleep, ready to share her newfound discovery with Obi-Wan.

Skywalker and Mace would be waiting for them in the forest. She looked forward to getting to see Mace kick Skywalker's ass.

\-----

Paz sat down in a seat in the cockpit. Din was sitting at the helm (giving the exhausted pilots from the Tribe some much needed rest), with Rey cutting glances at his movements as she completed another lesson on her datapad. What was she doing now? Maths? Mando'a?

Paz had trouble keeping track of it, though Din always knew just what question to ask to make Rey think.

Beside her, the Child was reading through a book that Paz had given him about the evolution of Mandalorian art and culture. Every so often, he would tug at her grey robes until she looked over. He would then show her something he was reading, and Rey would spend anywhere from a few moments to longer than a minute examining it before she returned to her work. Though they would stay silent throughout the whole exchange, their expression would often change several times as if having a conversation.

Just another weird thing about those two.

Despite the strangeness, Paz felt… content.

Though the Tribe had suffered heavy injuries, there had been no casualties amongst either the Mandalorians or the soon-to-be foundlings. Likely due to their raid on the Imperial transport being virtually unplanned and therefore blindsiding their opponents.

They were on their way to the Core, where his people were, where his aliit was.

Everything was going exactly as it was planned for once.

Which, of course, was when they started going to shit.

Paz jerked as alarms started blaring throughout the cockpit and Din stood up, checking scanners as a ship slightly larger than theirs appeared in front of them.

"That's not good," Din said as two of the seven uninjured Mandalorians rushed into the cockpit with them.

"Who are they?" Paz asked.

Din was frantically checking scanners and turning off the alarms. "Well, they're not Republic."

"Kriff," Sylvro, the woman in light blue armour behind him, swore.

"Could they be Empire?" Kaj, the man in dusty orange and yellow armour asked in a nervous whisper.

Din burst out swearing as the alarms started blaring once again.

He lurched towards the scanners.

"One's come out of hyperspace right behind us! How the hell did they even-"

They all stumbled as the ship shuddered around them.

"And they're attached to us," Din said flatly.

Din hung his head downwards and gave a deep sigh.

Then, he glanced at the Child and Rey. "You two go to where the other kids are, get inside the room and lock it down."

Rey opened her mouth to protest but Din cut her off with a wave pf his hand.

"Please. You'll be safest there. And you'll be the last line of defence if anyone gets through."

Rey pursed her lips but nodded. She picked up her spear whilst the Child jumped up to Din's shoulder, patting his helmet before he flipped onto Rey's shoulder.

"Sylvro, will you make sure they get there?" Din asked.

Sylvro nodded. "I'll stand guard."

Din looked to Paz as the door shut behind them.

"What's our plan of attack?"

Paz crossed his arms.

"We need to defend the wounded."

He turned to Kaj. "You take four of your men and guard the med bay. Send one to help the Sylvro and the last up to me to help defend the cockpit."

"And that leaves me, Conner and Jifo to infiltrate the ship," Din finished.

"Do you think you can do it?" Paz asked.

Din straightened, slinging his amban rifle off his back. "I know we can."

\-----

Rey leaned against the wall right next to the door, fiddling her lightsaber's hilt, her spear leaning against the wall next to her. The Child was on her shoulder, doing the same with his own weapon.

"Why are we stuck in here?" one of the younger children, who was about four years old, whined.

Rey sighed. "This is the safest place in the ship. This will be the last place that… whoever it is that's attacking us will get to."

"What if they get in?" a small Cathar boy asked.

Rey's hand squeezed around her lightsaber. "Then I'll deal with them."

The oldest one, a thirteen year old human boy, stepped up to Rey crossing his arms.

"As if," he stated, crossing his arms. "What are you gonna do, little girl, hit them with the stick that you're not even carrying?"

Rey narrowed her eyes but was cut off from answering by the sound of blaster-fire outside the door.

The sounds of the fight got louder with each second and Rey resisted the urge to tense, making herself open up and reach out into the Force as she stepped back to her original position right beside the door.

When the door opened up, Rey didn’t let the surprise or horror at the familiar stormtrooper armour that came through it freeze her up. Her and the Child let them take a few steps inside the room, blasters raised at the children, before they attacked.

Rey lunged forward at one of the stormtroopers, the Child flipping off her shoulder towards the other.

As one, they activated their lightsabers and slashed down and through their opponents. Rey breathed through the snap in the Force that pulsed after their deaths, attempting to sink into the battle meditation that Obi-Wan had talked to her about a few nights ago.

She spun around just in time to deflect the first stray blaster-fire that bounced into the room. She successfully managed to catch two more (though completely failed at directing it) when a few slipped past her. She heard a screech and a thud, causing her to spin around with a strained yell.

However, Rey did not feel a death in the Force.

They're only using stun blasts. It was a realisation she noted with some surprise.

'Yes. Unexpected,' the Child's voice answered in her head.

Sylvro and the other Mandalorian were dealing with the overwhelming onslaught rather well. Really well, in fact. They were dispatching the seemingly endless stream of stormtroopers.

Only two more made it past them, and were quickly dispatched by the Child and Rey before she slammed her hand into the switch, engaging the lock once again.

'Safe,' the Child reported with a mental sigh.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut. For now.

"Why the kriff did you do that?" the oldest asked.

Rey jerked and snapped her heat to stare at him.

"We need to help them! They'll be overrun!"

Rey pursed her lips. "They are Mando'ade. They are perfectly capable fighters."

'More than capable.'

Rey chose to ignore her brother's pointed thoughts.

"Besides. We were told to defend you."

The boy narrowed his eyes. "So you locked yourself in here with us! Coward! You should fight with them, not hide in here."

Rey's temper flared sending a pulse of burning anger through her limbs. Din had explained (lectured, really) the gravity of that insult to Mandalorians. If a Mandalorian had said that to her, she would be entitled to punch him. Or stab him. Painfully.

However, this boy was not Mandalorian yet. And he did not know the gravity of what he had just called her. So, she tok a second to calm herself, letting her rage thin down to a useful point that put an edge in her voice.

"And what happens if they get past us?"

The boy's mouth snapped shut.

"You were quick to point out the obvious before. And it is true. I am a little girl. Do you think I'll be able to stop them all from stunning you?"

A collective gasp went through the group. Rey's eyes cut briefly towards the Cathar boy slumped on the ground, still unconscious.

"Yes. He's alive. But if a stormtrooper managed to nab him and carry him away? - Because that's the only thing they'd do with a stunned kid. - That might make him wish he was dead."

Rey glared at the children before her, none of whom could meet her eyes.

She wanted to say something else. Anything. But she just couldn't quite formulate the words to get her jumbled point across. There was too much emotion in this statement for her to emulate her text books.

After thinking for a few moments and still not finding the right words, Rey retreated back to the door, the Child jumping back onto her shoulder, so they could ambush anymore opponents that might be let through. She tried to shake off the thick presence of the other kids' fear and the tension her words had brought them as she attempted to sink into a battle meditation.

She needed to learn a lot before she could be as eloquent as Obi-Wan.

\----

It was easy enough to get on the ship once the first three squadrons of stormtroopers had streamed onto their transport.

Both Din and Conner had needed Jifo's hands on their shoulders, restraining them as they let the squadrons pass their hiding spot.

After waiting a full minute, Din and Conner dashed into the open hatch between their ships, crouching down and interlocking their fingers so that Jifo could jump onto their hands and be propelled upwards as they threw him.

There were a few thuds as Jifo's vibroblades hit their mark.

A few more thuds followed the muffled 'pews' of Jifo's silenced blaster before the Nautolan finally gave the 'utre'la'.

Then Conner climbed the ladder, the broader man pulling Din up whilst Jifo stood watch.

From there, it was too easy.

They quickly made their way through the surprising small distance to the bridge, quietly dispatching any stormtroopers they found along the way and shooting out the locks on any doors that might allow troopers to flank them.

That was until they hit the bridge.

Jifo ducked out of the way and slammed the door switch. Jifo and Din opened fire.

The ten or so troopers and three officers didn't stand a chance.

Only two of the troopers even managed to get off a shot. And they both missed.

Din rushed forwards whilst Jifo and Conner turned to stand guard with a snapped, 'Make it quick' from Conner.

Din rolled his eyes and started searching the helm, his mind reeling as he tried to find a way to carry out his idea.

'Rey would be able to figure this out' he thought, almost allowing himself to wish she were here before he bit it off.

Din head swivelled around as he looked for ideas, freezing when he spotted one of the stormtrooper's (useless) blasters.

"Paz, lock all doors leading to the upper airlock and don't open them until I tell you too. Keep the airlock open… And put more power into the forward shields."

"Djarin…"

"Just trust me Vizla."

There was a pause.

"Alright."

Din nodded before he turned to the helm and made quick work of engaging all forward acceleration, the engine humming angrily underneath them.

He propped the blaster against the steering device to ensure it maintained its forward trajectory.

Then, he carefully attached the cord from his vambrace to the forward thrust switch - the only thing stopping the ship from screeching forward - making sure to fully extend it. He backed away slowly, gesturing for Conner and Jifo to go on ahead of them. They crept down the halls as quickly as they dared - Din really didn't want to pull the thrust down too early.

His cord was at full extension but he was still half a step away from the hatch that lead down into their ship.

"Go on ahead of me. I've got this."

Jifo and Conner cut wide eyed glances at him but did as he said.

Din took a deep breath to ground himself.

One. Two. Three.

Din pulled his arm back as hard as he could, causing the switch to flip before the cord detached from it and Din flicked his wrist to cause it to pull back into his vambrace.

He spun around, stumbling as the ship gave a jerk as the lock that had been keeping the two ships together was broken.

Thankfully, Din recovered quicker than the engines did. Throwing himself down the open gap between their ships and landing heavily at the bottom of the airlock just in time to feel the woosh of the other ship shooting forwards.

Din took the time to engage the airlock by punching the panel next to him before he sat down heavily on the floor.

Conner, who was leaning against the wall across from his, hands braced on his thighs, looked up at him.

"You are one crazy, son of a gundark."

\-----

Paz stared in awe as the ship that had previously been attached to them shot forward at a dizzying speed, crashing straight into the ship that had been blocking their path forward.

The other Mandalorian with him - Eleeto Khar, an unclanned woman who wore orange green and blue armour - shook herself out of her shock quickly, taking control of the helm and steering them away from the shipwreck.

Paz looked at the explosion for a few seconds more before he glanced around at the many dead bodies around them. They'd dealt with the few stormtroopers sent to seize control of the bridge pretty easily. It was almost insulting.

"I'm going to go check on the children," he informed Eleeto before he turned and headed off.

When he got to the entertainment centre, he found the doors open and piles of bodies in white armour.

Rey was standing near the door, her deactivated lightsaber clutched tightly in her hand. The Child, who was, as usual, on her shoulder, doing the same with his own saber.

Koetits was wading through the children, checking on them whilst Sylvro was cradling a prone Cathar boy.

"He's just unconscious," Rey informed him staring ahead. "They were only using stun blasts."

Paz frowned, tilting his head to the side.

Rey crossed her arms, pursing her lips. "I know. It's not good."

Paz's eyes landed on the bodies in the room. They all sported suspicious burns.

"It looks like you did well," he observed choosing to contemplate the information she had given him later.

Rey jerked, looking towards him. She dipped her head, a small smile appearing on her face as the Child's ears perked up.

"Thank you."

"Ade?"

Paz turned around to find Din standing behind him.

Djarin strode forward, enveloping Rey in a hug, the Child clinging to his helmet as he picked them both up .

"You're safe," he murmured as he squeezed the two children and Paz wanted to avert his gaze.

It seemed too… intimate for him to be watching. That was a moment between aliit. And Din wasn't clan.

When Din had let his children go, Paz walked up to him, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Good job, Djarin."

He stepped back to go do an inspection of the rest of the ship.

Next stop, the Core.

\----

Din shifted restlessly outside the door to the children's room.

They were only a few hours out from the Core, having just passed their last checkpoint of the dozens on their winding rout through the galaxy aimed at making it impossible to plot their course.

He needed to talk to them before they got there.

Din knocked on the door, entering when Rey called for him to come in.

The Child and Rey looked up at him simultaneously from their positions on the floor.

"What do you need Din?"

Din sat down on one of the beds, patting the spot either side of him.

The children obliged, silently joining him, one on either side.

"What is it?" Rey asked.

Din closed his eyes briefly before opening them again.

"A lot is going to happen when we get to the Core," he informed them. "We might be staying there for a while - a few months at least."

He glanced to either side of him to find the children watching him with rapt attention.

"There'll be a lot of celebrations and ceremonies when we get there - Paz just told me that the annual art festival is going to be beginning soon. But beyond that, they'll also do a foundling induction for the orphans as well as a formal clan recognition for me."

He paused again and Rey shifted, her patience beginning to fray.

Din took a deep breath. Well, I can't back out now.

"If you two want. We could also do a traditional gai bal manda."

Rey stiffened but didn't say anything. Din's heart dropped.

"It's fine if you don't want to-"

Rey cut him off, "You want to adopt us?"

Din shrugged. "Only if you want to as well."

Rey visibly swallowed, her hand going to her mouth even as she nodded.

The Child jumped up to his shoulder with a delighted shout, hugging his helmet.

"Thank you," Rey whispered, leaning her head against his arm.

They sat there for a few minutes, Din's heart swelling with warmth.

"Doesn't that mean that the Child has to have a name?" Rey asked.

Din frowned. "I've been thinking about that and I think I have one that you might like."

He turned his head slightly so he could see the Child on his shoulder.

"I have always thought of you as the powerful child. Te dral adiik. I don't think you want to be called child for your whole life and Tedral isn't quite… right is it?"

The Child wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"Dropping the 'l' seems more natural and since the only other two recorded members of your species also had names starting with 'Y', I thought yours should too… so I eventually landed on the name Yedra, if you like it?"

The Child jumped down into his lap and Din felt his stomach do a little flip.

Both Rey and Din waited with baited breath as the Child stared downwards, pulling thoughtfully on his ear.

Finally, he glanced up at Din once again, looking into his eyes.

"I like it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a transaltion. 
> 
> utre'la= all clear
> 
> Once again, thank you for the support. The chapters focusing on Mandalorians seem to be getting longer than I planned and I've needed to split them, so get ready for that.


	10. Din finally adopts his children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the chapter title

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for the wait. Things have been crazy at my house since I had to start online schooling and I had a bunch of tests before my school shut down. I have actually been more busy than usual (except in the past week, where my only excuse for not writing is that I've been reading fanfiction since every OTHER fic writer has been active.) Anyway. It's not actually this chapter that I'm struggling with, it's the next one, but I think I've finally got some momentum going and can hopefully smash it out and get to the chapters of this story I have been imagining for months.

Rey stared out the window as they entered the atmosphere. The planet was covered in sprawling forests and vast lakes. There was no signs of construction or anything that she could see from the air, certainly nothing big enough to hold the thousand or so people that Paz had said were on the Core.

Rey widened her awareness, frowning when she couldn't sense anything beyond animal life on the surface of the planet.

"Where is everyone?" she asked quietly.

Din, who was hovering behind her, the Child sitting on his shoulder, said, "You'll see."

Rey frowned as they got closer to the surface, flying towards mountain ranges on one side of the planet. Her eyes widened and she gasped when the with a rumble, a section of mountain sunk into the ground.

"You didn't think we'd make it easy to find us after we had to go through thirty rendezvous points?" Paz asked, inclining his head forward.

Rey couldn’t help the surprised laugh that tore itself out of her as they flew into the ingenious doorway.

They landed in a hangar and were ferried through many twisting corridors with countless branches that all sloped downwards, with Rey finding herself unable to keep track of the labyrinth they wound themselves through.

Finally, they opened up onto a vast cavern, so big you could barely see the opposite side from where they were standing.

Din leaned down and murmured quietly in her ear as they started to wind through the streets. "This is one of many cities here on the Core. However, this is the largest and the political capital of Mandalorian society."

He continued his quiet commentary as they wound their way through the streets, Paz interjecting sometimes to add his own knowledge on whatever building or custom Din was explaining at the time. Even Conner and Jifo gave them a story or two of their time in the Core.

Finally, they came to a stop on a pristine building made of shiny metal and reflective black glass.

"This is the Medcenter," Din told them. "It's standard procedure for us to be checked out as soon as we enter the Core."

Rey frowned, her gut twisting as a jolt of anxiety was shared across the bond.

Din put his hand on her shoulder. She wasn't sure if it was intentional, but the certainty and calm he was radiating helped her centre herself as she latched onto his firm, grounded presence in the Force.

"I promise you that it will all be fine," he told her. "They will help you."

Rey took a steadying breath and the Child shuddered.

"Are you good?"

The Child nodded and Rey said, "Yes. Thank you."

Din squeezed her shoulder and ran a hand over the Child's ear, before pushing them lightly through the doors.

\-----

She stepped out of the room to find Din sitting just outside, his head leaning back against the wall.

He lifted his helmet he saw her and Rey sat down next to him after she nodded her head at him in acknowledgment.

They waited in companionable silence for the Child to join them. Rey gently leaned her head against his shoulder after a few minutes and Din gently lent his head against hers, running a soothing hand through her hair, which she'd taken out of its buns for the medical examination. There they stayed until the Child was carried out by his sheepish looking nurse.

"Sorry for the wait," she apologised as she set the Child down in Din's lap. "We have never encountered his species before and needed to run some tests to ensure that his immunisation would be effective."

The Child blinked up at the medic, who wilted under his gaze.

"Thank you," he said.

Din grunted and nodded. "Yes. Thank you for making sure he's alright."

The nurse smiled. "It's my job. And he was a sweetheart. I hope you don't have to come back here. But if you do, I'd be glad to treat you."

Rey grinned as the Child ducked his head, pulling his hears in front of his face as the nurse walked away.

"Awww. Did someone charm the nurse? You're just too cute."

The Child's head snapped towards her and before he could deliver his (probably mostly telepathic and) no doubt scathing reply, they were approached by another healer. She was tall, with dark skin and curly black hair.

"Hello," she greeted. "My name is Healer Imevii Deshra. I am the mind healer you requested, Mr Djarin?"

Din inclined his head forward and stood up. "Yes please."

Rey followed his lead as the Child clambered onto his shoulder. Din had talked to them a few times about seeing a mind healer, so she wasn't blindsided by this, but she didn't expect to see her so quickly. It somehow seemed… less important than some of the other stuff they had to do before they were officially part of the Djarin clan.

They followed Healer Deshra to a room that had a warm brown desk in one corner and some comfortable looking dark blue couches in the other corner. The healer asked where they would be most comfortable and the Child and Rey were in agreement, so they all settled on the couches, Healer Dhesra sitting across from Din, Rey and the Child.

"First of all, before we begin, would you each like to do an individual session, or a family one today? I will need to ask you both very personal questions."

"We want to be together," Rey answered almost immediately, with the Child nodding enthusiastically as he sat beside her.

Healer Deshra nodded, her expression still calm and pleasant.

"And would you like Din in or out of the room?"

Rey frowned, feeling her thoughts swirl with the Child's as she thought about it.

"I want him here," she decided. "We've probably already told him whatever it is you'll learn about and we trust him."

Din, who had been silent and still up until then, nodded and shifted back on the couch.

"So how does this begin?" Rey asked once after a few moments of silence.

Healer Deshra smiled serenely. "However you'd like. Would you like me to ask the questions or do you want to just start talking?"

Rey frowned. "The Child would like to just talk but I want questions."

Healer Deshra nodded. "Well then why don't we start with the Child?"

Rey opened her mouth as the Child's words streamed into her mind for her to recount before they both hesitated.

"Is it alright if I speak for him a bit?"

Healer Deshra's brow creased. "Do you know what he wants to say?"

Rey pursed her lips and Healer Deshra leaned forward, looking deep into her eyes.

"Whatever you tell me in here will stay in here, I promise. And Din told me about you so I have been reading up on everything the Core has on Force Users over the past few hours. Whatever you say, I'll believe."

Rey paused, then nodded.

"Then yes, I do know what he wants to say. We're sought of mentally linked? We can hear and see pretty much all of each other's thoughts. And the Child doesn't really like speaking."

A small frown appeared on Healer Deshra's face but she nodded, gesturing for Rey to go on.

Rey swallowed, wet her lips and then launched into an abridged version of the Child's story, recounting most of the events leading up to their arrival on the Core from his own perspective. Sometimes, the Child would take over for a few minutes, but he mostly just let Rey order the thoughts and images he was putting into her head as she saw fit.

Once they were done, Healer Deshra leaned back, crossing her legs.

"You seem to have adjusted to your lifestyle quite well," she observed. "But I would still like to explore your feelings on your home planet further at a later time. And your aversion to speaking is just because you dislike it?"

The Child frowned. "I find it… difficult to convey what I want. Most of the time I just prefer not to. Rey is very good at and fair about conveying what I want her to."

Rey's insides warmed at the compliment and she glanced down to hide her blush.

Healer Deshra smiled reassuringly. "It is perfectly alright to choose to not speak. Especially when you have such an understanding sister. However, I would still like to explore ways of communicating where you won't be so reliant on Rey should she not be around. You have to be comfortable enough to be independent."

The Child nodded.

"And one more thing before we move onto your sister," Healer Deshra added. "You told me that Din gave you a name and that you like it… so why are you not going by that name now?"

The Child ducked his head. "I want to wait for the gai bal manda."

Healer Deshra smiled whilst Din's shoulders, which had been set in a worried line throughout the conversation, lowered slightly in relief.

"Very understandable."

The woman shifted her attention so that she was focusing on Rey.

"Now Rey, you said you wanted to answer questions. How about we start with how you came to be on Jakku and what your job was at Niima Outpost?"

Coaxing the information out of Rey was more difficult.

Rey was trying to tell her everything, she really was, but then Healer Deshra would ask a question and Rey's insides would twist and she would have to choke out her answer. The healer asked if Rey had wanted Din and the Child to leave after the first time it happened, but Rey had shaken her head. She trusted them more than anything.

The healer had also asked multiple times if Rey had wanted to stop and take a break, but Rey had forged on. She wanted to get this done with so they wouldn't have to go over it again.

"And why have you continued to wear your arm bindings? Surely there is not much sand or sun to protect against on a ship?"

Rey froze, her hands automatically going to each wrist, where the bindings started. This one she had been keeping purposefully to herself, even if it took Healer Deshra's question for her to realise it.

When she didn't answer after almost a full minute. Healer Deshra shifted in her seat.

"You don't have to answer that today if you don't want to," Healer Deshra assured her.

"We can leave if you want?" Din suggested quietly.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut, dropping her head down so it was facing her lap, feeling her hair fall in front of her face.

The back of her throat started to ache as she shook her head numbly.

"No. I want to… I want to do this," Rey whispered. "You said sharing would help."

The Child put a hand on her side.

Rey breathed out shakily.

"I don't… I don't think I can explain. Can I… Can I show you?"

"Of course," Healer Deshra replied immediately. "As long as you believe you're ready."

Honestly? Rey didn't think she'd ever be ready. But she couldn’t keep this secret any longer. It would eat at her if the only other person was the Child.

Rey didn't open her eyes as she untucked her arm bindings and slowly unwound them from her arms.

She felt Din stiffen beside her as he saw what was on her arms. Healer Deshra took a sharp inhalation of breath.

After a few minutes of silence, Rey opened her eyes and raised her head, only briefly allowing herself to look at her bare arms before she trained her eyes on the low table in front of her.

She knew what was there.

Tattoos of two manacles with a few centimetres of chain attached adorned her wrists. Rey remembered the day Unkar had them put on. The man had been kind enough to sedate her, but Rey almost wished she'd been awake to feel the pain. She'd hadn't stopped crying for hours when she woke up to find the permanent chains around her wrists.

And then there was the number printed on each of her upper arms. _44._

There had been 43 other 'indentured servants like her'. She'd only ever met fifteen of them.

Healer Deshra leaned forward so Rey could see her hands in her vision. The woman slowly reached forward.

"May I hold your hands?" she asked.

Rey's head snapped up to look at her and she shook it violently, shrinking into Din's side. His arm came up to lightly brush her other shoulder, but didn't settle there in a way that would make her feel trapped.

Healer Deshra put her hands up in front of her as she slowly leaned back. Rey's stomach swooped. She shouldn't have been rude like that.

As if she could hear her voice, Healer Deshra smiled gently at Rey.

"It's okay Rey. I'm not offended. You don't owe anyone the right to touch you if you don't want to," the woman assured her. "Thank you so much for showing this to us. That was very brave of you."

Rey nodded, already putting her arm bindings back on.

"There are ways to remove tattoos," Din murmured quietly next to her as she finished. "I can arrange a time with a Healer if you want."

Rey glanced up at him, gaping for a second. Then, she nodded, the action seemed to dislodge whatever control she had had over herself as she burst into tears. Din held her through them as she slowly let her shoulders stop shaking.

When the sobs finally subsided, Healer Deshra moved slightly so Rey's attention would be drawn back to her.

"I think that's enough for today. You're doing very well considering what you've been through, but I would definitely like to see you again, and soon. How does three days' time sound?"

Rey nodded hollowly. That sounded good. Despite her breakdown, she felt better than before. She'd told Din bits and pieces of what Healer Deshra had explored in that session, but she'd been avoiding thinking about most of it. It felt… freeing to have it out in the open like this.

But she was done for now. She felt like her insides had been scooped out and all that was left was an empty cave underneath her skin.

"Why don't you two go sit outside while I have a talk with Din about the logistics? Then I imagine you'll want to be getting along to your temporary rooms. I hear the ceremonies have been scheduled for this evening."

Rey stood up mechanically, and the Child climbed into her shoulder.

"Wait a second," Din said, fishing around in one of his pouches and producing a few chips. "These have a few books on them. I'm sure Healer Deshra will let you borrow a blank datapad?"

Healer Deshra nodded. "Of course. They’re on the shelf next to the door."

Rey managed a small, grateful smile at that before she left.

\----

Din's head fell into his hands as soon as the door clicked behind the kids.

His elbows were braced against his knees as he let out a shuddering sigh.

"I didn’t know that he'd done that," Din said, his voice quiet. "If I had, I would have waited to kill that demagolka."

If Healer Deshra was surprised at his language, she didn't show it.

Without missing a beat, the woman replied, "And that would have been a mistake. The place would surely be crawling with Empire scum for at least a few more cycles before business returns to normal. That monster might have even already been killed by them if he pissed them off as much as Rey's story implies he did."

Din looked up, locking eyes with the woman who was staring intensely at him as she leaned forward, mimicking his body language, he hands clasped in front of her. 

Din sighed again, the fight going out of him. "I know. I'm just so _angry_. How _dare_ he hurt ne adiik."

Healer Deshra's expression softened and her posture relaxed a bit. "Thank whatever merciful god was watching over you then that you found her."

Din nodded. "I can't imagine life without her. Without them."

Or, rather, he didn't like to.

His life may have completely changed since he met the Child, but meeting him, and later Rey, had given him a purpose. It had lit a fire in his gut that he'd never felt before.

He'd had a goal before. Get money for the foundlings. Help his people. Follow the way of the Mandalore. He had taken pride in what he did, even if it felt like a mockery of his skills to chase down bail hoppers. He had been doing something good and he'd known it.

But now, for the first time he could remember, Din actually looked forward to the future. Tomorrow was something to fight for instead of endure.

"You have done well with them," Healer Deshra told him and Din felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

He stared at the woman across from him, wide eyed.

"Of course, I'd like to see them regularly. The Child seems remarkably well adjusted, but I would like to help him sought through some social situations. Whatever magical Force ritual he described instinctively doing with Rey has made him age much faster than he should have and it shows with his emotional maturity. And I think it's obvious why I would like to see Rey again. You have done a very good job with slowly introducing them to new things, but I would like to monitor their progress and make sure they keep trying new hobbies."

Din took in her little speech numbly, his mind catching on her first statement.

"Thank you," he whispered. "I needed to hear that."

Healer Deshra surprised him by laughing. "All new parents do."

\----

Din was glad that Rey was open to being touched that day.

He needed the comfort of holding her shoulder as the welcoming ceremonies started.

There was a large crowd gathered around the edge of the stage. It was really more of a stadium, a wide circle surrounded by sloping seats upward from that had been buried into the ground. It was the site of many of the Mandalorian's important gatherings. Like this one.

The Five Houses were represented by their leaders on the very bottom ring of seats surrounding the stage. Lord Korkie Kryze of House Kryze, Lord Tristan Wren of House Wren and his mother, Countess Ursa Wren (who had stepped down as head of House Wren, which was the conglomerate of clans that had thrown their loyalty behind House Wren after the Purge, but still retained her position as head of their clan), Lady Nirraborn Skirata of House Skirata, Lady Meyu Eldar of House Eldar and, of course, Lord Kel Vizsla of House Vizsla, who would send a proud smile to Din every so often.

Even after so many years away, the smile filled him with a warmth.

Joining them was Countess Zhakia Tenau, the elected leader representing the clans without house ties and the individual Mandalorians that didn't have a clan.

Standing in the centre was Lady Bo-Katan Kryze of House Kryze. The silver-haired woman was their former Mand'alor and, though the Mandalorians were led by the council of the Houses now they were officially in peacetime, as Elder of the Mando'ade her word still held more weight than pretty much anyone else's.

The large gathering of Mandalorians surrounded the new foundlings, the returning Tribe and the others that had entered the Core early that morning that were all sitting in the half of the bottom ring of seats not occupied by the leaders of the Mandalorians. All of them were in full armour, though some had chosen to forego the helmet.

The loud noise of conversation filling the area quietened as soon as Lady Bo-Katan walked into the centre.

The woman nodded in approval as they all fell silent.

"Right," she began, her voice loud and firm. "I think it is time to begin with the ceremonies. There's no use delaying any further and I, for one, am looking forward to the welcoming meal our chefs have cooked up for us."

She stepped back and swept a hand towards the group of foundlings. They all shuffled out onto the lowered stage, tentatively peering around at the sea of Mandalorians surrounding them, all of whom were clad in armour.

"On behalf of all the Mandalorians, we welcome you all to the Core," Lady Bo-Katan welcomed.

Someone in the crowed let out a whoop and Bo had to break off for a few moments as a round of cheers rang around the stadium.

Din grimaced as the children cringed. Maybe people could try to _not_ overwhelm them.

Lady Bo-Katan also allowed a brief scowl to flicker across her face before she refocused her attention on the children in front of her.

"Over the next few months, we will begin to teach you about our way of life. You will be able to decide if you would like to go on to become Mandalorians or if you would like us to find a safe place for us to release you," she informed them. "Good luck and we are happy to have you."

Without any further fanfare, the kids were shuffled back into their seats and then the Nordis Prime Tribe was replacing them on the stage without needing to be asked. As one, they knelt down on the ground in front of the Council, the few injured ones being helped by their tribemates, each of them also removing their helmets as they did so.

"Welcome home, siblings," Lady Bo-Katan greeted in Mando'a. "You have shown your bravery in your actions and your people thank you for your sacrifice. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss your futures moving forward."

Then, she called up the first of her House from the Tribe, acknowledging them in front of the entire Core. Each House leader did the same for the ones in their Houses, with Countess Tenau acknowledging the unclanned and the ones without house ties.

Din supressed a full body shudder as their words washed over them. That honour was what every Verd aspired to. But it was more than that that had him overwhelmed. He sensed Paz, Conner and Jifo go rigid beside him as they felt it too.

They had been so removed from Mandalorian culture in the Nevarro Enclave, even more so than other Tribes. With their close proximity to the remnants of the Empire, they had all hesitated to do anything to express themselves as Mandalorians beyond wearing the armour. They hadn't spoken Mando'a, not even in the Enclave. They couldn't risk someone getting a glimpse into their way of life.

They're numbers had already been reduced so much, a once proud people that ruled over multiple systems reduced to mere thousands, and the Empire was still looking for them. Any information leaked could be a blow to them. It was better for others to assume that they were the last of their kind, isolated, than for them to know that they were working for the Mandalorian people as a whole.

Din had allowed himself to speak Mando'a on the ship over the last few months and at Maz Kanata's, but this was the first time he'd heard it spoken so freely in decades.

Din was only broken out of his stupor when, as one, the Council unsheathed one of their weapons and held them towards the group in the centre, hilts and handles first. The rest of the Mandalorians in the stadium stood and did the same, Din only a second behind them. His lips twitched upward as both Rey and the Child copied the movements of everyone else.

Rey unslung her spear from her back, offering it outwards, parallel to her body, since both the butt and the electrocuting head could be used as weapons, whilst the Child took out the dagger that sat on the opposite side of his lightsaber on the little leather belt Din and Rey had cut and sewn for him on their trip.

They both briefly glanced at him and Din inclined his head forward in approval. They grinned at him before spinning back to the stage, their heads bowed.

Everyone held their position for a few moments before they relaxed, sheathing their weapons and sitting down (other than the Council, who all stayed standing, as they had been throughout the gathering). The Tribe, who had all stood up as their names were called, bowed deeply before returning to their seats.

Lady Kryze then turned her attention back to the stage.

"We are also fortunate to have a few more of the Nevarro Enclave returned to us. Step forward, Paz Vizsla, Conner Rook, Jifo Vrestorr and Din Djarin."

They did as they were bid, Din patting Rey's shoulder and the Child's ear before he moved forward.

As one, they knelt in front of the Council.

"Rise, Nevarro Tribe," Lady Kryze said after only a few seconds.

They stood up, glancing at each other as they did so.

"You have been through much, fighting the Empire and the Bounty Hunters' Guild. And all for a child, if reports are true."

Din felt his muscles tensing.

"Come forward, children," Lady Bo-Katan ordered.

Rey complied after only a second's hesitation, the Child clinging to her shoulder. Rey gave a stiff bow as she came to stand beside Din.

"I believe it was the boy that the Empire was looking for?"

Din gave a sharp nod. "Yes, my lady."

Lady Kryze pressed her lips together, her eyes raking over the children. "I have heard rumours of why the he was sought out by the Empire. And you seem to have found another one who shares these fantastical abilities."

The Nevarro Tribe responded to her statement with silence. None of them were sure how to answer her. The Mandalorians around them were watching the exchange like hawks. The tension could be cut with a knife.

"Yes I recognise those weapons at the children's sides. Jedi weapons."

Immediately, murmuring broke out throughout the stadium.

Behind his helmet, Din cringed.

He should have known it would be a sticking point. The mutters got louder and soon subdued comments turned into full blown debates. Even the Council was discussing the children in front of them.

Din scowled as he heard snippets of conversations around him.

"They're dangerous."

"We can't trust jetii."

"We lost a whole tribe for one of _them._ "

Lady Bo-Katan's face was blank as she waited out the storm that followed her statement. Whilst most of the Council were quietly talking amongst themselves, both Count and Countess Wren were standing stoically, irritated frowns on their faces.

Not a total failure then, and Din could at least hear _some_ support for his children amongst the crowd.

"They are _children._ We must protect them. It is the Way."

"They are foundlings. Every foundling has a place with us if they chose."

"I heard what they did to those stormtroopers. With power like that at their age? We're lucky to have them."

Din frowned at that last one, feeling sharp surge in his chest more fierce than the angry churning the insults had dragged up. He would not have his children _used._

Just as Din started to get overwhelmed, a furious yell beginning to rise up in his throat, Lady Kryze slammed her foot into her metal seat, causing a loud bang to ring around the stadium.

The noise stopped instantly. Rey's head snapped up from where she had bowed it slightly against the onslaught of voices and the Child twitched. Din desperately fought the urge to wrap them in a hug, instead standing still, back ramrod straight.

"Enough," she ordered, glaring at the seats above and around her.

Before she could go on, Conner boldly stepped forward.

"If I may, my lady, councilmembers. Those children, as well as Din, more than deserve a place amongst us. They all risked their lives on their way here and uphold the Resol'nare."

Jifo stepped up beside his olive-skinned partner. "I can confirm the truth of his statement."

Din's eyes widened as Paz also stepped forward. "And I."

Din recognized Sylvro's light blue armour as she stood. "I saw it too. Those kids are as Mando as any of us."

Instantly, a few more of the tribe stood up, as well as many of the new foundlings.

However, Lady Bo-Katan held up her hand before they could speak.

"You misunderstand us," she said, a gentle smile crossing her features.

Din frowned as Conner, Jifo and Paz stepped back beside him and the children, all of whom shared his puzzled expression.

"This is not a well-known fact amongst our people, or the galaxy as a whole," Lady Kryze went on. "But perhaps it should be."

She glanced to her side, only continuing when she received an approving nod from Countess Wren.

Something in Din's gut twisted. If this required Lady Kryze to look to someone else, then it must be big.

"Those who are old enough and were fortunate enough to be there will remember that we did work with the Jedi during the Rebellion."

That caused another round of incredulous muttering.

"It can't be! The Jedi are dead."

"The Jedi weren't even real. They were just stories."

"It's true. I was there. There were two of them."

Din's eyes widened as he contemplated the implications of that.

Lady Kryze made a sharp movement and this time, the stadium silenced without her needing to make a sound.

The room roiled with incredulous energy, but no one dared to talk when they were pinned with her hard glare.

"After the war, the few remaining Jedi of old wanted to fade into the background, and the New Jedi Order that was being created thought it best to stay secret at least whilst they trained the first generation of New Jedi."

Din gave a slight nod even as his stomach twisted under this new information. It made sense. There were many in the galaxy that would seek to stamp out the Jedi before they could gather their strength again. More than a few Mandalorians could be included in that group.

"To respect their wishes, all of us who knew the secret have stayed silent on our knowledge. We have excluded that aspect of the Rebellion from our lessons. However, with the recent news we have received about the death of the New Jedi Order, I feel that it is safe to finally impart this news to you all. Especially with the arrival of these children."

Some of the people surrounding him relaxed at this but there were more who shifted angrily.

Something inside Din snapped and a surge of energy shot through his limbs, urging him to step forward.

Lady Kryze surprised him by smiling at his boldness.

"Ah, yes, I have been remiss in my duties. I apologies Marquis Djarin."

She lifted her chin as to project her voice to the whole stadium. "On behalf of the Mandalorian Council, I formerly recognise the Djarin clan. Congratulations Marquis Din Djarin. From what Armourer Nrabir Eldar has reported, you uphold the Way of the Mandalore better than most Verda. Clan Djarin will be a credit to our society and will strengthen us on the everchanging road ahead."

Din bowed his head respectfully at her words, unable to find words through his surprise. When he looked up again, Lady Kryze was looking at him with a smirk.

"Is there something you would like to say as a newly recognised Marquis?"

Suddenly, Din's conviction from before gripped him and he felt a surge of gratitude at the Lady. Her formal acknowledgement of his position as a clan leader, even of a minor clan, would give weight to his next action and ensure that no one would mess with his children.

Din turned so he was facing his children, taking a step forward so he was standing in front of his children. Slowly, he removed his helmet, causing both Rey and the Child to gasp,

"Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Rey, Yedra. Welcome to Clan Djarin."

And with that, it was done. Rey and Yedra were now legally his children.

They beamed up at him for a few seconds before launching themselves at him as one. Yedra flipped off Rey's shoulder and grabbed onto his head as he landed on Din's shoulder, and Rey caught him around the waist, causing him to stumble backwards half a step.

The air filled with charged silence for a few seconds before the light clanking of metal on metal filled the stadium as the Mandalorians around them crossed their right arms over their hearts.

Lady Kryze let out a laugh, breaking them from their embrace.

"I think that's enough formality for the night," she said, causing a round of laughter to ripple through the halls and cutting the rest of the tension easily. "Any other business can be attended to in the coming weeks. For now, let's eat!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translation
> 
> Demagolka = monster of the worst kind. Basically the most grievous insult a Mando could call someone. 
> 
> Ne adiik = my child
> 
> Mando = Mandalorian (Ik its obvious but I wanted you to know that it was actually a word in mando'a)
> 
> Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad = Mandalorian adoption vow - I know your name as my children
> 
> Mandaloriand Societal Structure (yes I know it goes against proper structures of medieval Europe but I don't care)
> 
> You have the Elder, who is the most respected but not necessarily the complete leader (kind of like the grandmaster of the Jedi Order)
> 
> Lady/Lord - Head of House
> 
> Countess/Count - Head of major clan
> 
> Marquis/Marquesse - Head of minor clan
> 
> THIS WAS IN THE TOP NOTES
> 
> Hi! Sorry for the wait. Things have been crazy at my house since I had to start online schooling and I had a bunch of tests before my school shut down. I have actually been more busy than usual (except in the past week, where my only excuse for not writing is that I've been reading fanfiction since every OTHER fic writer has been active.) Anyway. It's not actually this chapter that I'm struggling with, it's the next one, but I think I've finally got some momentum going and can hopefully smash it out and get to the chapters of this story I have been imagining for months.


	11. Feasts, Festivals and Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey makes a few friends and potentially an enermy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Two updates in a week. Howe weird.

Rey tried her hardest not to stare at Din as they sat at the long table, digging into the truly astonishing amount of food that had been set on each of the hundreds upon hundreds of tables throughout the clearing at the edge of the city.

Jifo sat across from them, with both Paz and Conner having been dragged away by their clans to other tables. Their table was mostly empty to give the new clan a little privacy as they bonded, as Jifo had explained.

Rey's eyes kept flickering towards Din - her father, the thought filling her with a dizzying warmth every time she remembered - trying to dutifully catalogue every aspect of his face. He was somehow both older and younger than she expected, his darker features strikingly different from her own and leaving no doubt that both she and Yedra had been adopted.

A thrum of surprise shook across their bond every time either she or Yedra glimpsed Din's uncovered face. Somehow, each of them expecting to see the familiar helmet every time they glanced over.

They mostly ate in comfortable, if a little stilted, silence as Jifo and Din quietly discussed their plans for the next few days as they had to re-integrate themselves into the Core as well as what they might see in the coming Art, Technology and History festival that would be starting in two days.

Neither Rey or Yedra were listening very hard, both too preoccupied by the idea of the school that they would be attending for however long Din would stay at the Core before his next Verd assignment.

Both of them were caught up in their shared daydream, imagining what they would learn as well as what their combat lessons might be like. They sunk into their imagination, the scene they were picturing flickering between sitting in a modern, tech filled classroom with a teacher in partial Mandalorian armour (as they noticed that not everyone wore full armour whilst in the safety of the Core, many of them having shirked it after the ceremony in favour of more casual clothes, with only about half of the gathered Mandalorians still in their full armour and none of them wearing helmets as they all ate together) and a clean, minimalist room like the ones they'd seen from Yoda and Obi-Wan's memory with a Jedi in front of them. The scape continuously shifted between these two settings, each classroom being slightly different every time they flickered back to it.

Sometimes it was Obi-Wan teaching them, sometimes it was Yoda, others it was Master Windu, or even Master Plo Koon, who both of them had become very fond of from what little they'd seem of him from the select memories their mentors had shared with them.

They felt the Force swirl around them as they indulged their daydreams, both of them enjoying the meal in front of them, and sparing a few thoughts to be grateful for Conner's extreme adjustment tactics, as what would have been unbearable burning that would have had them guzzling water a few weeks ago, was now a mixture of numbness and tingling throughout their mouth that they'd both come to enjoy and even crave in their food.

Although, they did steer clear of the dishes Din (Dad. Could she call him Dad?) had told them would be too hot for them even now. Yedra had bristled at the advice, taking it as a challenge, but after a short, lightning fast exchange over their bond, he had agreed with Rey to push his limits another day when they wouldn't embarrass themselves in front of almost everyone in the Core.

After just over an hour, when Rey and Yedra were enjoying the last bits of their syrupy cake alone with their father (as Jifo had been dragged off by Conner at the start of desert) when one of the people that had been standing on the lowest levels of seating during the ceremony walked up to them.

His hair was a shiny dark blonde interspersed with silver that made it look like it was changing colours as the relatively low light of the cave hit it at different angles.

The man had greeted Din with a large smile though Din had just stared at him for a few moments, lips pursed. Rey and Yedra both tensed. Din's emotions, which they could usually both read so clearly, were a confusing swirl, roiling inside him in a chaotic mess that made them both dizzy when they tried to latch onto them.

Rey in particular had come to rely on Din's steady and warming presence whenever she was panicking. She'd grip onto his presence in the Force, smooth and reflective in a weird way that she'd come to recognise as a side effect of being in contact with his beskar armour for so long, and hold on tight, surrounding it with her own power for as long as it took her breathing to steady. Even when she wasn't having a panic attack, she still liked to let her Force presence brush against his as much as possible, the thrum of his unique energy against her awareness reassuring her that they were all safe.

However, the conflicting storm within Din cleared away within a few seconds, replaced by a wave of joy just before Din surged out of his seat to wrap the man in a tight hug.

When they pulled apart, Din turned to them, his arm still slung around the man's shoulder.

"Kids, let me introduce you to Lord Kel Vizla, leader of House Vizla. He was the one who first introduced me to Mandalorian society… he made me a Mandalorian."

Rey and Yedra shared a wide eyed glance as they scrambled to their feet, Yedra standing on his chair whilst Rey's feet were on the ground, giving stiff, hasty bows as their minds scrambled to figure out what to do.

Lord Vizla just laughed and waved them off.

"There's no need for all that pomp. You'll find that us Mandos aren't all that formal - the ceremony you were just a part of is about as stuffy as it gets. Even Council meetings aren't that formal."

Rey froze, unsure of what to do next whilst Yedra relaxed, his ears perking up.

"You must want to get to bed," Lord Vizla observed and Din nodded.

Rey silently agreed with her father (her father!). Her eyes had started to burn a few minutes ago and she had to fight from slumping her shoulders. The lights, which were provided by huge crystals that covered the walls and ceiling, with a few even spiking out of the ground, had been steadily dimming over the last half-hour as people slowly started to stream away from the tables and towards the towering buildings in the centre of the cave.

Lord Vizla glanced down before he looked back at Din, resting his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"I've organised your assigned housing. You're in the South West Sector - the one under House Vizla guard."

Rey noticed Din stiffen slightly at that and frowned, her mind racing as she tried to guess the implications of that statement. As a scavenger, but more importantly as a slave, Rey had needed to learn how to guess the hidden meanings behind words. She'd had to learn when an offer of help was actually a threat, when a compliment was an insult or a curse was a sign of respect.

The Mandalorians were far more straight forward, even if every action seemed to have half a dozen layers of meaning and motivation. At least they'd written down these implications in books. They’re culture meant that an action would mean the same thing for most Mandalorians instead of something different to everyone she meets like it did on Jakku.

Being situated in the section of the city under the guard of House Vizsla meant that Lord Vizsla was offering them protection.

Yedra concurred with her thought, an image of a troupe of fully-armoured Mandalorians, each with the red flowered branch of House Vizsla on the left shoulders, with the leader having the rough three pronged signet of Clan Vizsla on their right one.

The Mandalorians were all exuding a comforting protectiveness as they walked through the streets of the Capital, checking shadows and the nooks for any threat that may have snuck in through the Core's many defences.

Rey frowned. Her and Yedra both formed the image of the House Vizsla branch emblazoned on Din's left shoulder pauldron in their minds as they tried to think of why they would be offered this.

Before they could formulate any more reasons, Lord Vizsla stepped slightly away from Din so only his hand was resting lightly on Din's right shoulder.

"I don't expect anything from you for this, Din," he assured the younger man. "I don't want your allegiance to House Vizsla or any promises from you. I know that you need to tread your own path just as you did when you were a child."

Rey and Yedra only relaxed when Din did, his shoulders dropping and his head falling forward.

Lord Vizsla took a small step closer to Din, his other hand coming to rest on Din's other shoulder as his forehead tilted down, just a few centimetres away from resting on Din's head.

"Clan Djarin needs time to come into its own before it formally allies with any House, if it ever does."

Lord Vizsla glanced towards Yedra and Rey, causing Din to look up and to the side at them as well.

"I sense that your clan has great things ahead of it, if you continue to support each other as you currently do."

Rey felt her eyes widen and Yedra's ears twitched. Lord Vizsla almost sounded like Yoda.

Din snorted. "You always were cryptic and vague, Kel."

Lord Vizsla grinned. "Come, let's get our plates back to the kitchen and then I can show you your Core housing."

Lord Vizsla led them through the sharp, fragmented but open streets until they got to a medium sized building with about twenty floors.

"I've given you the top apartment, since you are one of the few with the means of getting out of it should you need to."

Lord Vizsla eyed Din's jetpack as he said that and Din straightened under the scrutiny, but smiled and nodded at the other man.

Their building wasn't one with an elevator, so they had to take the stairs, but Rey couldn’t find it in herself to complain. Not that she usually did, but even her thoughts did not turn to bemoaning the journey. Her previous tiredness had left her as she buzzed with excitement.

Lord Vizsla left them at the door with instructions on how to program the keycodes and facial recognition on the door locks and Rey hardly payed attention to his goodbye beyond reminding herself to respectfully return it before she burst into the apartment, marvelling at how starkly different it was to the Razor Crest.

Whilst the Razor Crest was all curved edges and gloomy lighting, their apartment was open and bright, lit by a mixture of crystals and globes. The only similarities could be in the cube shapes of their sleeping areas as harsh, fragmented, rectangular shapes dominated most of the apartment's structure, with its angular benches and mismatched cupboards that somehow all came together tastefully.

They quickly divvied up the four bedrooms, with Din getting the biggest and the most minimalist, with bare walls dominated by weapon and armour racks and Rey getting the second largest and the warmest that had lots of shelves and a large desk. Yedra selected the smallest and darkest room that was lit by tiny crystals encrusted into the roof like stars, leaving the second smallest bedroom free for guests or to be converted into something else.

Whilst the globes had switches, all the crystals could be controlled individually or in groups through pads in each room. Din could even control them through the datapad in his vambrace, as he showed them whilst Rey and Yedra were exploring the apartment.

Before they each headed to their own rooms for the night, they all hovered uncertainly in the hallway leading off to the bedrooms.

Din cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well goodnight… kids."

He put a gentle hand on Rey's shoulder and another on Yedra's head.

Immediately, Rey and Yedra knew how they wanted to answer.

"Goodnight," they both murmured back in unison. "… Dad."

Din tensed for a second and both Rey and Yedra cringed back slightly. However, in the next moment, they were being pulled into a crushing hug.

After a while, he released them and nudged them over the their rooms.

"Go on. We all have a busy few days ahead of us."

\-----

He hadn't been lying. As Rey sat down on the fake grass in a large cavern that was a few minutes' walk down a wide tunnel on the east side of the city, she let out a large sigh.

The past two days had been non-stop for her. They'd begun by moving everything they wanted to from their ship to their apartment, something that took quite a while even with their limited possessions and Conner, Jifo and Paz's help since the walk from the hangers to the city was so long.

Then Din had gotten them fitted for training armour, which was basically miniature Mandalorian armour that was moulded out of durasteel of a cheaper quality than the standard issue given to most Mandalorians nowadays, or the beskar that was preferred and sought out by the populace. Din had recognized the Armourer that had attended them and informed them that she had been a part of his Trube.

She'd introduced herself as Nrabir Eldar and despite the fact that she hadn't taken off her helmet at all, Rey had liked her. Din had also taken to wearing his helmet everywhere but at their apartment and they hadn't seen Paz outside his helmet after the feast. It seemed all the Verde as well as quite a few of the other Mandalorian citizens preferred to keep their helmets on.

The rest of hers and Yedra's time during those two days was spent at the school, completing tests with the other new foundlings as well as doing interviews to see what classes they would be placed in and to help them decide what areas they wanted to begin studying.

Now, after a morning full of never-ending math, Mando'a, Basic and general knowledge questions, Rey was almost too mentally exhausted to appreciate the beautiful and varied art that covered the walls of the cave as well as the many pieces of wonderous technology that were being set up near the cave's perimeter.

All the children in the city, which she'd learnt numbered at about a thousand, were sitting on the grass in front of a raised platform, on top of which, Lady Kryze was standing.

Rey had gotten a seat near the front, with the rest of the new foundlings, Yedra sitting beside her, so she could see the lady clearly as she cleared her throat and swept her eyes over the children before her.

"I know you are all excited for the festival," she began.

And she was right. Most of the children around Rey were squirming in excitement. For the next few hours they would get free reign at the displays and activities in the cave, since the Opening Ceremony of the Art, Discovery and History Festival for the adults would be later that night.

"However, today is an unusual affair in that it is only the third day that some of our new foundlings have been part of our society, which is why I and every other adult will be speaking in Basic."

"So, I have been presented with the unique opportunity of teaching you one of the first lessons you will learn as Mando'ade."

Lady Bo-Katan paused for a second to look over at Rey, Yedra and the children sitting near them before returning her gaze to the children as a whole.

"It took me a long time to decide what to teach you. After all this will begin to form the foundation of your future in our society."

Another pause. Another glance.

"After much contemplation, I have decided to tell you a story. The oldest story known to the Mando'ade in fact: the Akaanati'kar'oya."

"This story tells the myth of two great gods: Kad Ha'rangir the destroyer and Arasuum, the sloth god."

Rey felt a thrill of curiosity spark inside her and Yedra, and she sensed the air around her become charged with the other children's interest.

"In ancient times when the Mandalorians numbered even fewer than they do now, and our people were limited to just one planet, the clans served Kad Ha'rangir, who's tests and trials forced change upon the people they favoured. In opposition to them was Arasuum, who sought to tempt the clans into stagnation."

"Yes, Kad Ha'arangir was a destructive and unforgiving god, but without him to constantly fight Arasuum, the Mandalorians and the galaxy would not change and would never advance beyond the savages that they were then. For, in the end, all things must be destroyed."

She broke off, letting that lesson sink in to the children, who were watching her in awe. Even the adults, who were mostly parents, teachers, leaders and delegates from other planets that held Mandalorians gave her their undivided attention.

"However, younger than the two gods yet still older than memory are the Ka'ra, the stars. Those who endure for a long time, almost an eternity because of their strength. We are not Ka'ra, nor should we seek to be, but we must acknowledge that they exist and we must never forget them or their power."

"Over time, this myth fulfilled itself, in that to survive the increasing conflict we found in worlds we reached, the Mando'ade shifted the focus of our worship to be centred around war itself."

Rey frowned, not liking the sound of that. Jakku and its ruins had showed her first-hand the effects of war.

"Of course, that was not a sustainable way of living as you will learn in your history lessons, and the Mandalorian Civil Wars broke out as different factions fought over which new path the Mando'ade would take. Eventually, the pacifist movement became the most popular, though as you can probably imagine, it had some very extreme opposition."

Rey shifted, trying to think of Paz or Din as a pacifist and finding it hard. They had both described combat, especially with their weapons, almost reverently.

Lady Kryze's signature pulsed weirdly in the Force, but she shielded her emotions well, like most of the older Mandalorians did so Rey couldn't tell what she was feeling.

It was back to normal when she started speaking a second later.

"However, the Clone Wars and the Empire reminded us of our roots."

She crossed her arms, eyeing all of the kids in front of her, but especially the new foundlings.

"We must always remember to change when the universe calls to us, just like the myth states, however we must remember the Ka'ra, the ideas that endure. We respect and continue the warrior ways of our past as well as draw lessons from our the story of our gods. I like a recent opinion of the creation myth that our philosophers have drawn: while we fight beside our god against stagnancy to reach towards advancement and to ensure injustices are not continued, we know it is not our place to needlessly destroy. Widespread destruction should not be dealt by any mortal being, and we must always fight against those that seek to pursue it."

Lady Kryze relaxed, and shifted so she was standing with her hip jutted out to the side and moved her hands to her hips.

"Now, go have a look at the art and technology created for this year's festival. We'll be starting up sparring in half an hour for anyone who wants to display their skills."

With that, many of the children jumped to their feet, racing off to the walls of the cave. Rey walked off at a more sedate pace, looking curiously at the art sculptures that had been set up around the cavern before she got the walls. Each picture was very unique with many styles and colour palettes being used across the rooms. Although, the most popular seemed to be a style that utilised jagged shapes and sharp angles that reminded her of the buildings, street layout of the city and decorations in their apartment. She'd heard the word 'cubist' being thrown around a lot and Yedra was able to tell her much about that style since he'd seen in it in the arts books he'd been reading about Mandalorian society.

Rey wandered around the room, with Yedra sitting on her shoulder on the side she was holding her spear. Eventually, she wound herself back towards the centre, even though she hadn't made her way around the perimeter, since it seemed like the sparring was almost ready to begin.

As she got closer to the centre, she saw a few different pieces of technology being displayed by various adults, and even a few older students, each of which had a small crowd around them.

She paused at one display that seemed to pull at her. The force around it seemed to hum with a strange energy that filled the air with a warm glow.

Yedra leaned forward on her shoulder as she joined the back of the small crowd that had gathered to watch the young man explain the weirdly shaped large metal ring with a blue crystal set in opposite sides in his hands.

"Hello, guys. My name is Alrich Wren, and yes before you ask, I am the grandson of Countess Ursa Wren and her husband who is also called Alrich Wren."

There were a few nervous giggles from the children at his wry turn.

"I've come here from the Lothal Outpost with a couple of representatives from the Vode to demonstrate one of Lothal's latest innovations."

He held up the device.

"My mother, Sabine Wren, my sister, Depa Wren, and I have managed to develop complex shields that can block both blaster fire and melee attacks. Over the last few years, we've been adjusting and perfecting it so that it can be applied over a localised area."

He slipped the device over his head, adjusting it so that it fit through some means Rey couldn't see from her own vantage point, so that the back fit over the top of his forehead like a headdress, snaking down in front of his hears before hooking back behind them across his hairline. One of the crystals rested in the centre of his forehead whilst one rested over his brain stem. He then unhooked another metal wring from his cords. This one opened up so he could clasp it around the area where his neck met his shoulders, one of the crystals sitting in the v of his sternum and the other right on his spine.

He reached behind his head, and then a second later, she could feel a hum of energy expand from the crystals and hug his head and neck. Her mouth fell open as she realised what it was.

"Basically, we've created invisible helmets," he told them.

Gaps and exclamations of awe rose up from the crowd as Alrich pushed against his head but couldn’t get closer than a few centimetres away from his face.

"They've been designed primarily for the Cabur who go off-world and for any undercover operations they carry out. I know that the crystals are a bit flashy but they're more subtle than a full helmet. And…"

Alrich reached back to the bottom ring, hand sliding around to the Force Field until he it seemed to taper down his finger rested on the only bit of metal that he could physically touch, flicking a small button that had the shield detracting with a hum. He then flicked a switch at the back of his head and another at the back of his neck, which caused metal panels to enclose over the, and immediately making the bands look more understated and less like pieces of advanced technology.

Another wave of impressed hums wove up at that as Alrich reactivated the shields.

Alrich's eyes locked on one of the kids in front of them.

"Hit me."

The child visibly hesitated.

"With the four crystals, the shields should just about be as strong as beskar."

The kid glanced to either side of him, but upon merely receiving shrugs from them, took out his weapon.

The boy visibly hesitated for only one more second before he swung his dagger directly at the Alrich's head, his hand jolting backwards when he hit the shield. Alrich wobbled a bit under the blow, leaning back through it, but they all saw that the blade hadn't touched his skin.

Rey gaped at the display, but moved away quickly after that as Alrich set up the shield on the ground and had the kids test its strength. She didn't particularly want to be recognised and asked to swing her lightsaber at it.

She wandered closer to the various circles which had been drawn with paint on the synthetic grass. The sparring was just beginning and many adults wandered around the circles, inspecting the skills of the children who had decided to go first.

Rey hung back a little. If Din were here, she might have been more enthusiastic about participating, but he was busy filling out important paperwork to do with the formal establishment of their clan. It wasn't that she was waiting for his permission or approval, she'd just feel more secure with him there. Even Yedra was hesitating at the thought of sparring in front of everyone without their father there to protect them.

Both of them kept their sabers on their belts, but didn't reach for them, not even brushing their hands against them. They were painfully aware of the Mandalorians' uncertain view of Jedi and didn't want to draw more attention to themselves than was necessary.

After a few minutes, two other kids joined them at their side. Rey recognised their force signatures as two of the new foundlings. Specifically, the little Cathar boy and the older kid who had yelled at Rey back on the ship. She'd noticed many of the new foundlings trailing her around the cavern but none of them had been bold enough to talk to them yet.

Rey glanced over at them to find the older boy standing stiffly, his shoulders almost at his ears as his eyes refused to meet hers.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled and Rey's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?"

The boy sighed. "I'm sorry for back on the ship. I know you were just trying to protect all of us."

Rey stared at him for a few moments, her left arm clutching around her right wrist, worrying at the edge of her vambrace since it was covering her arm bindings.

She glanced to the right at Yedra, who was carefully not thinking anything, letting her emotions swell between both of them on the bond, and only offering a calming steadiness in return.

She turned back to the boy.

"It's okay," she told him and his eyes flickered up to hers in surprise. She chose her words carefully. "It was a difficult situation."

The boy snorted and glanced back down at his feet. "You handled it well, even though you're younger than me."

Rey pressed her lips together and swallowed as the Cathar boy took the older boy's hand.

"I've had training," she eventually decided to say. "And it wasn't the first time I'd had to deal with stormtroopers."

The older boy looked up at her a wry smile on his face. "Still, it was impressive."

He stuck out his hand. "Can we start over?"

Rey felt a thrill of pleasant surprise go through her as she took his offer, grabbing a hold of his wrist instead of his hand, keeping her grip when his hand spasmed in shock.

"This is a Mandalorian handshake," she informed the boy. "And sure, what are your names?"

The boy's own expression widened into a grin that made his brown eyes sparkle as he flipped his shaggy chestnut hair off his face with a flick of his head.

"I'm Aaron, and this is Cadel," he introduced. "We already know your names from last night. No need to make it awkward."

Rey's lips quirked upwards as the Cathar boy gave a small wave. "Hi."

Rey grinned down at him and Cadel, who's posture had matched the Aaron's, straightened, revealing a smile to match hers as he brightened.

"Do you want to go watch the sparring?" Aaron asked and both Rey and Yedra nodded, allowing themselves to drift closer to the matches.

That turned out to be a mistake not a few minutes later.

Their small group (as well as a few of the other new foundlings that still hovered near her) had inevitably come to a stop around of one of the sparring circles so they could actually focus on the fight.

The circle had a crowd of both adults and kids around it, like all the others, but they were still able to see clearly since everyone stood far enough away for them all to see.

Currently, two other kids were sparring, both of them maybe a few years older than Rey.

It was a dark skinned girl with thick curly hair who introduced herself as Sosraka Lok at the beginning of the fight against a blonde boy who'd proclaimed himself as Tiroc Rook.

As the fight played out, it was increasingly clear that it was speed against strength, with Lok's finessed strikes opposing Rook's brute force.

The two duellers surged closer to where they were standing and both Aaron and Cadel shifted backwards. Rey's grip on her spear tightened. However, a strong bat from Rook's axe, which Lok only just caught on her long, flat sword (which later had learnt was called a beskad in one of the books she had read), sent Lok stumbling back towards the centre of the ring, putting some distance between them so she could recover.

Rook hung back, swinging his axe in front of him and twirling it between his hands in an impressive display of control over their weapons.

"He's going to win," Aaron guessed, his eyes following the bulging muscles in Rook's arms, which were large, even if he was only a teenager.

Rey shook her head. "He's too arrogant and Lok has better technique."

Rook tensed at her words and Rey winced, maybe she should have said that quieter. She'd thought he'd be too focused on the fight to hear what she was saying, but it seems he was listening for what people were saying about it. Understandable, since there were more than a few teachers here.

Lok twirled her beskad, holding it out in front of her in a double handed grip and smirked at Rook in a way that had him charging directly for her. She blocked his overhead strike, moving through it and around him, lashing out and hitting his ribs with the flat of her blade before she danced out of his reach.

Rook stumbled a bit and spun around to face her, glaring fiercely.

Lok flicked her beskad in a mocking 'come hither' invitation, smirk still on her face.

Again Rook rushed forward, this time with a growl.

Lok moved to pre-emptively strike him, feinting to the left with a move that Din had trained Rey not to fall for in her first week of training, if not in that first afternoon on Jakku. Nevertheless, in his anger, Rook fell for it, throwing his axe down to block the faked strike, exposing himself enough for Lok to plant a kick in his chest that had him sprawling onto the ground. Lok pounced on him before he could get up, standing over him with a blade at his throat.

They stayed in that position, frozen for a few moments before one of the teachers that was wearing full armour pained a light red with darker, reddish brown lowlights around the visor and various twisting designs along the rest of his armour in the same darker colour, called for them to relax.

Rook, took Lok's offered arm and allowed her to help him up whilst Rey turned to Aaron, raising her eyebrow and crossing her arms.

Aaron just grinned in response, raising his hands.

"I bow to your better judgement," he said, inclining his head forward dramatically.

Rey rolled her eyes, but a smile was pulling at her lips.

A raised voice pulled Rey's attention back to the centre of the circle.

"Why don't we test out some of our new foundlings?" Rook asked loudly, glaring over at the group of children around Rey before settling on her specifically.

"Djarin!" he called, pointing at her with his ace. "You seem to be their little leader. And didn't they say you could fight? Why don't you try and land a few blows?"

Rey froze, her eyes widening.

"Hey!" Aaron snapped. "She beat stormtroopers!"

Rey elbowed him as Rook snorted.

"As if that's impressive," he retorted.

Rey and Yedra shared a glance, both of them steeling themselves against Rook's stung anger as they came to the same conclusion.

They would have to fight. A thrum of mutual anxiety pulsed across their bond.

They could beat him. Rey glanced between her training armour, which was really only there so that she could adjust to wearing armour while she decided on the exact design that she was going to use, as opposed to Rook's proper durasteel armour. Probably.

"Which one of us do you want to fight against?"

"I'm not fighting a midget," Rook scoffed and Rey only barely held back her eye roll.

Yedra shrugged and hopped off her shoulder onto Aaron's whilst Rey took a deep breath, thinking over the lines of the poem written by the old grey force user, which she'd now adopted as a meditation mantra.

_There is no light without the dark._

Her connection to the Force had to be balanced. She needed to be one with the Force.

_Through passion I gain focus._

Rey concentrated on getting her aggravation to sharpen her senses, spreading the irritation so it pulsed loosely like energy through her limbs instead of allowing it to overwhelm her and affect her decisions.

She took her blaster out of its holster on her thigh and handed it to Aaron.

_Through knowledge, I gain power._

As she took her dagger off her belt, handing it to Cadel, and her lightsaber from where it sat on the opposite hip and entrusted it to Yedra, she tried to remember everything Din had taught her about fighting stronger opponents.

Her reading, supplemented by Obi-Wan and Yoda's advice in their dreams, had only got her to start venturing into accelerating her speed and agility so far, and hadn't really branched into letting her perform great feats of strength beyond whatever she managed to draw from the Force in a fit of panic.

_Through serenity, I gain strength._

Rey basked in the reassurance that her brother was sending across their bond, wrapping herself around her before she tried to ground herself in her own calm, attempting to mirror the steadiness both Din and Obi-Wan usually projected.

She began walking towards the centre of the circle where Rook was swinging his axe.

_Through victory, I gain harmony._

Rey felt Yedra poke his tongue out at Cadel, prompting the Cathar a boy to giggle and relax a little from where he was tugging at Aaron's arm nervously.

Rey dimmed their bond, so that she could completely focus on the oncoming fight. She wasn't yet good enough to have her presence expand outward into the Force around her while she fought, and she couldn't afford distractions.

She took another deep breath in.

_There is only the Force._

As she breathed out, she felt herself slip into a shaky battle meditation, something that she'd read about and that Obi-Wan had helped her with through showing her his memories.

"Oya!" the same teacher as before proclaimed.

And then they were moving.

Rey raised her spear above her head to catch the axe coming down towards her, the upper half of the spear below its prongs connecting with the handle just below the axe head and stopping the blade from smacking into her.

He hadn't been swinging as hard as he could, so Rey managed to push his blow back, giving herself a little bit of room to step back.

Rook also took a step back, a sharp smile twisting his features.

"Looks like the little girl has some bite."

Rey valiantly tried to concentrate her anger, using it to charge her limbs, whilst also stopping it from clouding her senses and making her lash out.

_Through passion, I gain focus. Through serenity, I gain power._

It was like balancing on a knife's edge.

Again, she let Rook attack, this time redirecting his blows to the side instead of catching them.

It was harder than it should have been, the training armour throwing her just slightly off balance. The only reasons she was managing to avoid getting hit was her Force senses screaming at her and telling her where he was going to attack next.

Eventually, Rey managed to knock one of his blows downwards as opposed to the side and used the momentum to spin inside his guard, slamming the butt of her spear into his stomach and sending him stumbling backwards. Knowing she probably wasn't going to get another chance like this, she moved with him, adjusting her grip upwards so she could use the blunt end of her spear to hook one of his legs off the ground, putting him off balance so that he fell when she shoved him with her shoulder.

She quickly swung her spear around, stepping over him so that she could point the tip at his neck.

They both froze, Rey breathing harder than she normally would. The extra weight she was carrying really did exhaust her.

"Gev!" the teacher called and Rey relaxed, setting the butt of her spear against the ground and leaning on it as she bent down to offer Rook a hand.

The boy scowled but took it, letting her help him up.

"It was a lucky shot," he muttered, rubbing the spot on his stomach that she'd hit with her spear.

She'd managed to hit one of the chinks in his plating.

Rey shrugged, a good natured smile pulling at her lips.

"Probably," she admitted. "I was just moving on instinct."

Her lack of anger seemed to aggravate Rook more and he glowered at her.

"I wonder why you didn't fight with your little lightsaber, _Jetii,"_ he called, raising his voice so everyone could around the circle could hear. "Scared to show your true nature?"

Rey pinched her lips together, glancing back at Yedra as irritation spiked across the bond from both ends.

"Come off it, Rook," Lok scowled, stepping slightly forward. "She probably just wanted to go easy on you."

Lok looked to her, a kind smile on her face as rested a hand on her beskad hilt at her hip as she gently handed her purple and yellow helmet to the person next to her.

"I'd be happy to spar with you."

Rey frowned, her heart twisting as her hand latched onto her wrist.

She hadn't sparred using her saber with anyone other than Yedra, Paz or Din (the latter two having gone easy on her and mostly just helped with practicing blocks). She'd barely advanced past the Shii Cho movements. Yoda and Obi-Wan might be able to teach them in their dreams, but they still needed hours of practice to get their bodies used to the movement and forge them into their muscle memory. They could learn a lot in the dream realm, but after that first week, they were only able to enter their dreamscapes every few days. It took a lot of power for Yoda and Obi-Wan to manifest for them (she'd only seen them in real life once, on that day that she'd showed off her katas for Conner, Jifo and Paz), and it was also draining for Yedra and Rey, since they were the ones maintaining the dreamscapes.

They needed actual sleep as well to survive.

So, she wasn't confident that she could perform at all well against the unpredictable Mandalorian fighting stytle. She was still a while from being able to mix the Jedi and Mando techniques.

And she certainly didn't want to lose control. Which was very easy when your weapon was almost as alive as you were.

"I think she might be more confident fighting another jetii," a familiar voice called and everyone whipped their heads around to find Lady Kryze watching them, her hands on her hips whilst Lord Kryze stood cross-armed beside her.

"My lady?" the teacher asked.

"It's easier for Force Users to train against each other. Especially when they're just starting out."

Lady Kryze looked between Yedra and Rey.

"It had been a very long time indeed since I've had the pleasure of seeing a lightsaber spar. Will you indulge me?"

Rey and Yedra glanced between each other before Rey turned back to Lady Bo-Katan.

"We only found our sabers a few weeks ago, my lady."

Lady Kryze smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. I would still like to see it if you're comfortable?"

Rey glanced to Yedra, letting him make the decisions in the face of her the anxiety churning in her gut.

Yedra shrugged, and jumped onto Cadel's shoulder, handing the Cathar boy his dagger before flipping to the ground.

The thrill of excitement she felt from melded with her own feelings, but did nothing to stop them.

Yedra walked up to her, opening his hand that had been holding her lightsaber and letting it rest on his outstretched palms.

_You good?_

Rey took a deep breath and then summoned her lightsaber into her open palm, tossing her spear towards Aaron and guiding its path with the Force so that he caught it, as Yedra unclipped his own saber from his belt.

_Let's just do this._

They both got into their opening stances, feeling the thrum of excitement awe fear wonder from the crowd when they ignited their sabers.

Yedra chose the traditional Ataru opening, his saber held in two hands to the right of his body, with the hilt in line with his ribs whilst Rey bent her knees, turning her body slightly to the side as she stretched her left hand out in front of her and held her lightsaber horizontal to the ground in her right hand in, hilt in line with her temple, a Soresu opening she'd seen in her text books and her dreams countless times over the last few weeks.

Even though they would both be using mostly Shii Cho, they had progressed far enough to at least have a few Ataru and Soresu stances and moves in their fights. Yedra used them the most since he was basically completely reliant on the flipping, acrobatic style of Ataru to be effective at all. And he seemed to understand things quicker than Rey.

Yedra smirked as he felt her momentary flash of bitterness. She'd expelled it from her mind before she could even fully register it, but they felt everything the other felt. She would feel bad for the negative emotion but her brother was a smug little bastard.

_Through passion, I gain focus._

She wasn't sure which one of them thought that.

Tense silence surrounded both of them for a few seconds and they both spared half a shared thought to wish that their dad was there.

"Oya!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a translation  
> Oya = positive exclamation, in this case, 'Go' or 'Start'
> 
> Gev = Stop
> 
> I'm back. How are you liking this? 
> 
> We should only have one more chapter on the Core before we head off back on our adventures. However, this is essential for Plot reasons later on.
> 
> Also, everything I said about the gods and everything is true, but the philisophy about it is all mine.


	12. Who knew a saber fight could lead to such depressing conversations?

Yedra flipped into the air and Rey immediately drew her left foot backwards, bringing her hands together to grip the lightsaber in both of them as she directed a slightly downwards block against Yedra's strike.

He landed for barely a moment before he was in the air again, and Rey rotated her wrists, moving the blade below the handle so she could direct her next block upwards. Yedra pushed off her strike, using the momentum to flip over her head.

Rey spun around, raising her saber up to follow Yedra's path over her head, just in case he tried to strike out mid-flip like he head yesterday. As he was falling, Rey flicked her saber downwards, forcing him to hastily block and pushing him off balance as he landed back on the ground.

She tried to follow through with another attack to end the fight, but his height worked to his advantage, forcing her to slightly overextend her lunge so that her slash was clumsy enough that he could dodge to the side. 

She'd lunged forward with her left foot and he'd dodged to that side, giving him a precious second as she was forced to follow the motion of it into a full turn to keep her momentum as she spun to face him.

Yedra jumped at her briefly exposed back, and she was forced into her own sloppy block as she came out of her spin before she had to throw herself to the side to avoid the second strike he managed to snap out before he fell back to the ground. She managed to keep her saber up even as she stumbled so she was ready for his next strike, blocking it fairly easily.

What she was not ready for was him sweeping low with his next jump, aiming a slash at her right ankle which she only just avoided by raising her foot off the ground. A swift shove from the force directed at the back of her knee had her crumbling.

He flipped over the small force wave she sent out as she rolled onto her knees, sensing her intention to use it through their bond rather than anticipating it. Their awareness of each other through the bond was the only reason that they'd managed to block each other's strikes for so long, neither of them being advanced enough to block their intentions through it whilst also concentrating on combat.

Rey was ready for the overhead slash he directed at her, blocking it and pushing him slightly back. However, she wobbled under the strike - the kneepads and shin guards putting her off balance - and she had to take her left hand off her saber and to catch herself as she fell over.

Yedra lunged at her exposed side, pausing his blow less than a centimetre away from her unguarded ribs.

"Got you," he hissed out loud, his victory reverberating across the bond.

Rey smirked as the feeling quickly drained when Yedra looked up to find her blade paused in a killing blow just above his head, Rey having swiftly spun the saber into a reverse grip in her hand and driven it downwards in a path that would have had it cleaving through his skull.

Silence surrounded them as everyone stared on, shocked.

"Gev!" the teacher called out after almost half a minute and both Yedra and Rey deactivated their sabers.

Rey sheathed it and stood up in one sought of graceful movement. She only wobbled a little as she straightened. Both her and Yedra inclined their heads at each other, giving each other a slow, respectful nod before they both turned to face Lady and Lord Kryze, their hands clasped behind their backs.

Lady Bo-Katan tilted raised her chin, a small smile on her lips.

"That was… impressive," she commented crossing her arms. "I am sure you will both be formidable opponents."

Rey couldn't quite stop her chest from puffing up a little at the praise.

"Thank you, my lady," she said dipping her head in the not-quite-bow she'd seen a couple of other Mandalorians give the lords and ladies of houses.

Yedra copied her. "Yes. Thank you."

Lady Kryze's smile widened a fraction as she examined them for a few more seconds. Rey tried not to squirm.

Eventually, Lady Bo-Katan uncrossed her arms, taking half a step back.

"Why don't we let another pare spar now."

Rey gave a small sigh of relief and Yedr jumped up to her shoulder with a flip.

"Yes Lady Kryze," they both said in unison.

With that, Rey gave another nod and hurried out of circle back to where Aaron and Cadel were waiting, slack jawed.

"That was amazing," Aaron observed as he numbly handed Rey her spear.

Cadel offered Yedra and her their daggers back. Rey reached down to take hers whilst Yedra summoned his up to him with the Force.

"Thank you," Rey said with a small smile as she sheathed her dagger and took her blaster back from Aaron.

Tingles crawled up and down Rey's spine as she felt people's attention focused on her and Yedra, their curiosity and interest seeping into the Force as they stole glances at them.

She tried to ignore them and engage with Aaron and Cadel, who were both gushing about learning combat at school. Well, Aaron was gushing, Cadel just nodded along and gave the occasional quiet affirmative or a small extrapolation on whatever Aaron had just said.

Eventually, people started to get distracted by the spar in the circle and they stopped looking at them. She felt her shoulders lower as she started to relax, however, there was still a small prickling sensation on the back of her neck.

Yedra's Force presence enveloped her, brushing up against her shields as he sent her the sensation of the spikes of interest he was picking up from somewhere.

_I feel it too._

They both expanded their senses, spreading their presences until they found the force signatures they were looking for. Two old men, a little to their left. Both of their Force signatures thrummed with surprise when Rey and Yedra pressed up against their, not unimpressive shields.

Rey snapped her head to the side and the two men stiffened.

Yedra peered around her head, placing a hand on her middle bun.

_They look very similar._

It was true. One man had scar above his left eyebrow and his hair was cut into a neat flat square on top of his head whilst the other was bald with an impressive round beard. But the differences ended there. They had the same facial structure and same coloured eyes. Even their hair was the shame shade of snowy white.

Rey sent a wave of agreement across their bond. And then a thought occurred to her.

_If you mess up my hair, I will smack you._

Yedra's hand quickly readjusted so it was resting against the flat part of her head instead of a bun. He glanced at the back of her head and then there was a small pinching feeling in their bond. The mental equivalent of a wince.

Rey pushed her spiky irritation across the bond, prickly needles hammering at Yedra, and was about to swat Yedra off her shoulder, either with the Force or by turning and physically hitting him, but the two men glanced at each other before they walked over to them.

Rey turned to face them as Aaron's exclamations slowly faded, noticing that her attention had shifted.

She crossed her arms, trying to channel the energy Obi-Wan had after Skywalker had said something particularly stupid.

Both men paused at that, the one with the scar staring at her, his eyes widening. The other hesitated, before ducking his head, reaching hand up to rub at his neck.

"Well we look like…" the guy with a beard started before trailing off.

Rey raised an eyebrow.

The one with the scar looked down sharply, squeezing his eyes shut.

Rey frowned. The men's emotions were weirdly subdued in the Force, like they had lots of practice at keeping them behind shields. However, this one was strong enough for Rey to pick up without trying. A faint trace of grief and gult. Something so deep it was etched into the man's very soul.

The man with the beard pressed his lips together, bringing an hand up to squeeze the other's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "It's been a long time since we've seen comman… ahh… yongli… um… young force users."

Rey's eyebrows furrowed as confusion swirled between her and Yedra.

She looked between the two men as the bearded one swallowed, obviously searching for words. They really were very similar. Too similar. Her eyes rested on the man with the neat haircut. She narrowed them as something in the back of her mind buzzed. A memory.

That scar was familiar. She'd seen it before. A few times.

"Are you clones?" she asked abruptly and both man's eyes snapped to her.

"How did you know?" the bearded one questioned.

Kriff. What did she say? I've seen you in the memories that your general sometimes shows me in my dreams. The one that you shot off the side of the cliff.

Granted, Obi-Wan didn't blame Cody for that. It wasn't like the poor man had a choice.

Yedra sent her an image across their bond and Rey's mind clicked.

_Thanks, vod._

"I've seen your pictures in a few of the old story books about the Clone Wars Din picked up on some small planet near the Western Reaches," she explained, flickering her eyes to the clone with the scar. "You're Commander Cody, right?"

Cody's shoulders drooped but his lips twitched up in a small smile. "Not a Commander anymore, but yes, my name is Cody."

Cody's signature had spiked sharply with grief. Rey couldn't have that. Especially when it was her fault.

Rey smiled a little back at him and tried to project happiness and reassurance. She wasn't sure how effective it would be on a non-Force Sensitive, if at all, but if Din could transfer could project his calmness to her when he wanted, surely she could do the inverse of that.

Cody's eyes widened at that and his sadness eased a little.

Rey glanced at the other clone. "I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."

The man shook his head chuckling a bit. "It's fine. I've changed a lot since then. I'm Rex. Maybe you read about me as well? I was under General Skywalker?"

Rey nodded. "Yeah. I read about you a little, but I didn't see any pictures. I liked reading about General Kenobi better. He was cooler."

That startled a laugh out of Cody, who elbowed Rex lightly as he shot him a grin, whilst Rex scowled theatrically.

"You know," Cody said, glancing at her. "You remind me of him."

Rey's head jerked slightly. "I do?"

Cody smiled. "Yes. You looked so much like him when you crossed your arms that I thought I saw a ghost."

Rey felt a small grin forming on her face. "Really?"

Rex nodded. "Sure. For a second I was transported back aboard the Negotiator when the general had just found out about some crazy shenanigans I hadn't been able to stop the commander from doing. Even your accent kind of reminds me of him."

Rey frowned. She'd always had a weird cultured lilt to her tone when she spike Basic. She had no idea where she could have possible gotten it from, but it was one of the reasons that . Although, she did manage to lose it when she spoke other languages.

"That was some impressive fighting back there," Cody commented.

"That Force wave was well controlled, and it was even more amazing that he managed to flip over it," Rex added.

Rey frowned. "You felt that?"

Aaron nodded. "That push against our legs after you fell and Yedra jumped in the air? That was weird. And really cool. I had to step back to keep from falling over!"

Rey's stomach dropped and her stomach churned. She hadn't meant for _anyone_ other than Yedra to feel it. But she'd panicked and lashed out. She couldn't do that. She couldn't afford to lose control.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, glancing down as her hand latched onto her wrist.

She didn't see through her own eyes Rex and Cody's concerned stares, but Yedra let her see through his eyes over the bond.

And suddenly both of the clones were sending out feelings of reassurance and comfort. Their projected emotions softening the Force around her and making it feel like she was surrounded by warm pillows.

"It's alright, vod'ika," Cody assured her. "You still have your whole life to learn, and you didn't hurt anyone."

Rey slowly raised her head in time to see Rex's eyes flicker around the room, narrowing as they landed on for Aaron for a second. Aaron straightened under the scrutiny, shifting slightly closer to Rey. Rex examined him for a moment more before he leant in to Rey and Yedra, seemingly satisfied with whatever he saw.

"You should visit our home world, Lothal, after Clan Djarin has become settled into Mandalorian society. A few of our residents would have much to teach you if you wanted to learn," he murmured.

Rey stiffened, her mind racing as it quickly caught on to what he was saying.

"Is that why you're so good at… that?"

Rex's lips quirked up whilst Cody raised his chin slightly.

"We've had a lot of practice… even after we stopped serving our generals."

Rey pressed her lips together, a rush of her excitement seizing her heart at the thought. She searched for words, but both her and Yedra's thoughts were spiralling.

Rex chuckled.

"It's alright you two. We'll mention it to your father when he gets here."

Him and Cody walked then walked away, each parting with a deep nod.

"Well, that was wei-" Aaron cut himself off before he could finish the sentence, staring wide-eyed at someone just over Rey's shoulder.

Rey turned around, her back automatically straightening as she found Lord Kryze coming to a stop in front of her.

Quickly, remembering herself, she did the half bow, pushing slightly on Aaron and Cadel's backs with the Force to attempt to get them to do the same. Aaron gasped and Cadel yelped at the contact but they got the idea.

"Lordy Kryze," she greeted. "It is an… honour."

Both she and Yedra internally winced at how forced that sounded but Lord Kryze merely chuckled.

"You don't need to worry too much about formalities, ade," he assured them. "You will find, that as long as you are respectful, and honourable, the Mando'ade will welcome you as one of our own, regardless of what else you may be."

Rey nodded, giving Lord Kyrze what she hoped was a relieved smile.

"Thank you for your demonstration. I must confess that I had forgotten how wonderous it was to see Jedi fight."

"You knew Jedi…my lord?"

Lord Korkie smiled slightly. "A Jedi padawan taught a few lessons at my school when I was growing up and my mother talked about them often. She was very familiar with them."

"Your… mother?" Rey asked, unable to stop the words.

Lord Kryze pressed his lips together, glancing down before he looked between Rey and Yedra.

"I do not make it a habit of telling strangers my family secrets," he began before glancing over to where the clones had walked off. "However, if Rex and Cody trust you, I suppose it might be worth imparting them to you, especially if you knowing could benefit the Mando'ade in the future. The Vode have good instincts and if they both found no fault in you…"

The man trailed off in thought before he glanced over at Aaron and Cadel.

"I'm afraid I will have to take you away from your friends for a moment, if that is okay?"

Rey looked to them and Aaron gestured outwards with his arm.

"Go, we'll meet you somewhere around here later."

They both gave another one of those half bows to Lord Kryze before they wandered, Aaron shooting a look at a few of the kids who had been trailing Rey, causing them to also follow him.

Lord Kryze slowly lead them over to a quieter section of the cavern, subtly looking around at the people who were slowly drifting away from them.

As one, Rey and Yedra expanded their senses. There wasn't anyone close enough to hear their conversation if they spoke quietly. And they didn't glean anyone directing any attention to them. In fact, it seemed like people were trying to give them privacy.

They came to a stop in front of a painting of a flock of phoenixes, one of the rare non-cubist pieces on display tonight.

He seemed to be searching for something to say, still suspiciously glancing at the people around them.

"We don't think anyone can hear," Rey murmured to him.

Lord Kryze's eyes cut to them, his lips quirking upwards.

"My mother put a lot of faith in the Jedi," he informed her. "I think her favourite pastime was arguing with one of them, and they're practices conflicted heavily with her pacifist ideologies, but she respected them greatly."

Rey frowned a little and Lord Kryze's smile widened.

"I apologise. I'm being cryptic. I think I may have inherited the trait from my father."

Both Rey and Yedra's head felt fuzzy as they tried to figure out where this conversation was going.

Lord Kryze looked away from them to examine the painting, eyes trained on a bird with particularly large plumage around their head.

"You may have heard of my mother, her name was Satine Kryze."

He took a deep, breath. Rey's mind immediately made the connection. Of course, she knew the name. She'd heard it tossed around when her father and his tribe were discussing Mandalorian history with her.

"Officially, she was my aunt, who decided to take care of me and raise me as her own when a lesser known sect of Clan Kryze died tragically. She couldn't have everyone know that she'd had a baby with a Jedi, one Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Rey and Yedra both went rigid.

"So you've heard of him," Lord Kryze observed, giving them a kind smile. "Don't worry. He never broke his vow. It wasn't against the rules for Jedi to have sexual relationships, and neither him nor my mother were ever more attached to each other than they were to their people and their convictions, even if they did end up having two children together."

Rey jerked, unable to hide her emotions in the face of these new revelations. "Two?"

"They had another child during the Clone Wars - my mother always reacted badly to birth control, and she did want another child. She was born just over a year before my mother was… was killed."

Rey swallowed. "Oh - I'm sorry."

Lord Kryze waved her off. "No need it was more than fifty years ago and I've been assured the darksider who killed her - Maul, a former Sith apprentice who wanted to get back at my father for bisecting him - died some years ago."

They were all silent for a few moments before Rey looked over at Lord Kryze, taking in the stiffness of his shoulder and the tightness in his expression.

"So are you…?"

Lord Kryze shook his head.

"No," he chuckled. "Neither I nor my sister were ever powerful enough to be given to the temple. Something both my parents found very curious since Master Kenobi was such a renowned Jedi. However, my sister did have prophetic dreams occasionally. A few actually prompted her to go journeying through the galaxy a few decades ago. I haven't seen her since and I fear that she's -"

Again, Rey and Yedra were at a loss for what to say. They'd never had to listen to someone else's tragic backstory before.

"We're… ah… that's…"

Lord Kryze shook his head. "It's alright. Kat liked to say that the force worked in mysterious ways. She knew what she was getting into when she left. Not that I really understand. The most I get is the occasional… nudge to do something."

"Like talk to us?"

Lord Kyze smirked. "Like talk to you. You two are very… calming to be around. I must confess that you've taken me off track of what I originally wanted to discuss with you."

He handed her two pieces of flimsi.

"They’re the preliminary blueprints for the crystal powered helmets that Alrich Wren is debuting today. They were officially made for Cabur and for non-humans who have trouble being completely covered by traditional helmets, but those at the Lothal Outpost have found that they are also of great use to Force users, since beskar tends to somewhat interrupt their connection to the Force. Apparently body armour is fine, but the helmets can be somewhat distracting."

"I recommend you take them to an Armourer you trust. I hear the one from the Nevarro Encalve is on the Core."

Rey nodded. "Yes sir."

Lord Kryze smiled and nodded. "Thank you for your time. Why don't you go find your friends? They seem very fond of you."

Rey gave the half-bow.

"Thank you, my lord."

Yedra also bowed before Rey walked back off towards the sparring rings, where Aaron and Cadel quickly found them again.

"Wow, you're really popular," Aaron observed.

"A lot of people want to talk to you," Cadel tacked on quietly, his feline ears twitching.

Rey shrugged. "I guess. I don’t really know what's going on."

Before Aaron could reply, someone walked up to them, clapping her on the shoulder. Rey almost jumped out of her skin and Yedra's hand went to his lightsaber.

Seeing her negative reaction, Sosraka Lok withdrew her hand.

"Sorry…" she muttered before brightening a little. "I just wanted to say that you handled Rook well. It's always nice to see that cocky mir'osik knocked on your ass."

She grinned at Rey and Yedra. "I'd be honoured to spar with either of you when you think you're ready."

And with that, she walked off.

Aaron laughed as she disappeared back into the crowd. "Being your friend is going to be so exciting!""

\-----

That night, Rey materialised in her dream realm already crossing her arms.

Obi-wan was looking rather sheepish, his head ducked.

"You didn't tell me you had children."

Obi-Wan cringed before he looked up at her.

"In fairness, I didn't tell anyone I had children."

Rey frowned. "That couldn't have been healthy."

Obi-wan raised his left shoulder. "It was a painful subject for me - one that only became more painful over time."

Rey was silent for a few moments, but eventually decided on asking, "You loved them, didn't you?"

Obi-Wan clenched his eyes shut but nodded.

Rey hesitated. "Do you know what happened to your…?"

Obi-Wan glanced up at her. "To my daughter? Little Katarina? No. I know she died. And I tried to watch her whenever I could. But it got more and more difficult to stay present over the years before the force grounded me to you and I couldn't be there when she died. Anakin has always been more powerful than I am, and it's easier for him to lock onto this world, but he spends his energy focusing on his own children."

Obi-Wan glanced down and swallowed. "I think it's a blessing, really, not knowing. I don't think I want to know. She wasn't powerful enough… I wouldn't have been able to teach her even if I - "

He broke off with a choked off sob.

Rey projected comfort into the Force, but didn't reach out with her presence. She didn't want to crowd him. He wasn't used to too much affection.

However, Obi-Wan reached out his hand in an aborted effort to touch her shoulder and Rey stopped holding herself back, enveloping him in a hug and tucking her head under his chin as she enveloped him both physically and through the Force.

He seized up, but returned the hug automatically, relaxing little by little over the next few minutes.

Behind her shields, Rey's mind ran over some of the memories Obi-Wan had showed her.

"You loved him as well didn't you?" she asked. "… Cody?"

Obi-Wan's arms tightened around him before he whispered, "Yes."

They stayed like that for a long time, Obi-Wan making no attempt to move away, and even periodically squeezing her from time to time.

Eventually, she said. "I didn't know the clones were considered Mando'ade."

Obi-Wan pulled back slightly so he could look at her.

"A few years after the war, Captain Rex, Commander Wolffe and Ahsoka Tano travelled the galaxy and unchipped all the clones that were still trapped by the Emperor's programming. Lothal opened its doors to them and many chose to return. The medics on Lothal had found a way to reverse the accelerated ageing. They even found a way to slow their ageing when compared to standard humans; something all residents of Lothal benefit from. Most of them needed a lot of help. Especially Cody."

"They were willing to give their loyalties to the Mandalorian people, and the Mando'ade, reduced to a mere twenty thousand when compared to the billions they used to number, were in no position to reject loyal fighters that are willing to adhere to the Resol'nare. The Vode, as they're called, are treated as another sect of Mandalorian religion. Like the Verda who follow the Way of the Mandalore."

Rey nodded, compartmentalising the information with help from the Force just like she'd read about in one of her books.

Obi-Wan smiled faintly at her and pulled away from her.

"Why don't we go through a few more Soresu stances today?" he asked. "You did very well in your spars. I think you're ready to learn a bit more."

Rey pursed her lips. "I didn't have control."

Obi-Wan put his hands on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "You didn't lose it either. My Kote was right, dear one. You still have your whole life to learn. You mustn't be do harsh on yourself."

\----

Din glanced at his kids as they sat cross-legged on one of the couches in their apartment, floating a couple dozen rocks around them as well as all the cushions.

They'd been on the Core for four months now and he still couldn't tell if they were meditating or playing one of their games.

He'd given them the afternoon off from their daily trainings since they'd both finished their final evaluations for the course units they were going through in school, and had passed with flying colours.

Perfect timing for the Council to give him a mission, if he wanted to accept it.

Din had enjoyed his time on the Core. It had nice seeing his kids happy and safe. They'd even brought a few friends over for dinner.

But he knew he was going to accept the Council's offer. Yes, he'd enjoyed not having to be on his guard all the time and he'd liked actually getting to relax with his Tribe, getting to know them in a way he'd never had a chance to in the years they'd been secluded together.

However, he knew he couldn't stay like this forever. He was getting restless without a purpose. He'd even joined the guard rotation, but it wasn't enough to keep the restlessness that charged his limbs at bay.

He thought he could feel it in his kids too. The need to be on the move.

At least once every few days, he'd catch Rey staring up at the roof, at the sky they couldn't see, mimicked imperfectly through the crystals glittering on the roof of the city's cave. It was something that she hadn't stopped doing, no matter how many hours she'd been on the flight simulator, or how many modules she mastered on those machines.

Just as often, he would see Yedra pause and frown, before glancing towards the tunnel that lead to the hanger, as if he wanted to walk towards it. No matter where he was, even if his view of the passageway was blocked, he would look that way.

Sometimes he heard them whispering. Well, it was mostly Rey speaking. Sometimes she liked to respond to Yedra's psychic messages out loud. They talked of visions, of feelings that they both had.

They were still needed. And not on the Core. It was a truth all of them knew.

Din walked into their living room, moving silently and not saying anything. He didn't need to.

Over the next minute or so, the objects floating around the room slowly lowered back to their places, the rocks returning to the boxes Rey and Yedra liked to keep them. One for all the rocks they'd collected on the Core and one for the ones they'd collected on other planets.

And then, as one, both his children opened their eyes. He looked at them for a little while, as they blinked up at him from their cross-legged position on the couch.

Rey was searching his face and he knew she was reading his emotions clearly. He'd made it a habit of not wearing his helmet in the apartment and he hadn’t yet learnt to control his expressions, not like Rey had the natural ability to and the way she and Yedra were being taught how to do better in one of their classes since they'd both gotten the invisible helmets rolled out at the festival.

He felt the tingling and weird invisible pressure around him that meant his children had expanded their 'Force presences' to envelop him, something he had become an expert at detecting much to their surprise, even as they continued to do it more and more frequently until it seemed like they spent more time using their powers in some aspect than they didn't.

"You have something to tell us?" Rey asked, her face breaking out of the serene mask it always held after a meditation as she smiled fondly up at him, Yedra mirroring her. The warm expression of complete adoration they reserved just for him.

Din felt his heart swell. God he loved them.

"The Council has inquired into my willingness to accept a new mission," he told them. "Offworld."

Rey straightened a little. "Really?"

"Yes. Intelligence has gotten back to them that the Freed Systems are looking to contract a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Me, specifically. Apparently we made quite an impression on the Tattooine and Lamaredd senators and there are a slew of rumours about us through the Outer Rim."

Rey snorted. "That's not terribly unsurprising."

Din smirked. She'd become quite good at leaning into her accent and using words in a way that charmed others and drew their attention. The espionage module she'd tested into two months ago was really paying off, even if the act didn't work on him. He just found it funny.

He quickly composed himself sitting down on the couch opposite them, the holoprojector resting on the coffee table between them.

"I promised to keep you two safe until I found you some suitable teachers."

Rey's expression softened and she glanced at Yedra one of their silent conversations passing between them before she looked back at him.

"You know we won't find the teachers we're looking for here. And we were never destined to be coddled by safety our whole lives."

Din frowned. Rey hated talking about destiny. It was one of the few parts of her ethics and philosophy courses that she didn't like.

"We don't want to be cooped up here forever," Yedra informed him, his high voice crackling in the intriguing non-human way of his. "We're ready to leave."

When Din still didn't reply, Rey huffed.

"You know that we won't be inconvenienced by it. The schools have a system set up where we can learn remotely. They have enough modules for us for the next eight years. And it's not like it's exactly uncomomn. Cabur take missions with their kids all the time. Mandalorians have always done it. It's a Ka'ra."

Din's mind automatically deciphered the meaning of the metaphor. A star. A tradition important enough to endure and be kept alive. Just like The Way.

Din looked up at her.

"If you're sure. I know you'll miss your friends."

Rey shrugged.

"We'll be fine. As long as we have our aliit."

Din smiled slowly his chest warming.

"Although, we would like a few days to pack our stuff and say goodbye," Yedra tacked on.

Din snorted.

"Yes. I'm still a few hours of work away from finishing database."

Din nodded. The database. A bit of tech hardware and software Rey and Alwrich Wren had thought up during the festival when they were finalising the plans for her and Yedra's helmet. It allowed her to digitise all the books Maz had given her and access them from anywhere in the galaxy from any datapad she chose, just as long as she had the chip in her vambrace. They'd basically made their own, personal holonet.

Rey and Yedra had both gotten their proper durasteel armour, deciding to reforge it in beskar when they came of age. And even though they had insisted that Din donate all the beskar they had earnt to the foundlings, he had still kept some to contribute to their final armour.

"So, I'll tell the Council that I will accept that mission. We'll probably be sent out in about four days, so I'd start packing now."

Both children nodded, opening up the comm units in their vambraces as they did. No doubt to message their friends.

Four days later, Din and his children boarded the Razor Crest.

Sosraka Lok, Nrabir Eldar, Conner and Jifo were seeing along with Sylvro Jorgan and the two foundlings she'd adopted, Aaron and Cadel (who was the only other of the Cathar species on the Core beside her) and a few of the other foundlings they'd brought to the Core.

Rey sat in the pilot's seat with Din in the co-pilot's, programming the route he'd been given by the Council that got him to the rendezvous set up by the Freed Systems on Orvax.

All of them hummed with an excitement, unaware that this mission would end with a blind hyperspace jump into Wild Space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm too tired to do a translation of Mando'a. Everything in this chapter has been used before in this fic.
> 
> The plot is moving along. 
> 
> We're off the Core! Now things are moving along.
> 
> I love comments! They make my day!


	13. The No Good, Awful, Very Bad Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'll see what happens

When they set foot on Orvax, they were greeted with the sight of a stern looking teal-skinned Twi'lek, who was appraising them with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

"I see it's bring your children to work day," she commented, eyes lingering on Rey and Yedra.

"I've given them work on my ship," Din informed her with a shrug.

Rey shifted, playing with the hem of the her large brown outer robe.

She and Yedra had decided to become Cabur, so they had to hide their armour. Armourer Eldar, or as the Zabrak asked Rey to call her, Nrabir, had said it would be fine to expose her arms and legs, so longs as she kept her chestplate hidden most of the time, and never wore her proper helmet in public, but Rey didn't want to risk it here.

Under the robe, she was wearing a black dress with her grey sand robes over the top to hide her chest and breastplate and shoulder pauldrons. She had expanded the neckpiece of her helmet so that it stuck to the top of her body plating on her front and back and didn't look so much like a collar. Yedra just wore his brown smock over his armour, metal 'headdress' circling the base of each ear, with a small bit of metal clipped on to the tip of each ear to dictate the shape of the shield when activated.

Rey's looked almost exactly like the one Alrich had demonstrated, though hers had two curved shapes curling from the point right in front of her ears, subtly mimicking the Mythosaur horns shown in the symbol of the Mandalorians and the metal-covered crystal on the crest of her headdress was encrusted in the shape of a hexagon inside another hexagon, the Mandalorian Iron Heart just orientated so that one of its corners was facing upwards.

"Besides," Din said, with a conspicuous look at the half a dozen other ships parked in the clearing. "I can't very well leave them on there. Especially when it's evident that I'm not the only you called here."

The woman's lips quirked upwards. "This is a trial run for the little organisation we're starting up here. There are others who are taking the test with you."

Din crossed his arms. "I already rejected the Bounty Hunters' Guild. What makes you think I want to join something similar."

The woman's smile turned vicious. "Because this one is looking to destroy the remnants of the Empire, not do its dirty work."

With that, the Twi'lek turned and started walking, gesturing for them to follow.

Rey only started walking when Din did. Yedra shifted his bes'bev - a flute that with a sharpened end so it was both an instrument and a weapon - into one hand and placed his left hand on her cheek as they moved forward.

"I thought I was called here by some senators from the Freed Systems?" Din asked, his voice low, rough and menacing. He was in bounty hunter mode.

"Oh this is too… covert for official personal to be involved in. We can't afford for this to be linked back the Freed Systems if you all get caught. We don't want to start a war."

"Then who are you?" Din all but growled.

The woman glanced back at them. "You can call me Numa."

Rey looked at her critically, taking in the woman's armour and her guarded but not stiff posture. She was ready for an attack, but not expecting one. Whatever game they had just been dealt into, she knew it well.

Numa led them into a room lined with chains and cells and Rey flinched back. She and Yedra had been distracted when they touched down but now they could feel it. The very core of this planet wept. The walls bled it's past inhabitant's sorrow. Yedra's grip on her cheek tightened momentarily as he cringed back against the onslaught. He tried to throw up walls for them and Rey was only able to help him a little once she'd taken a bit of the edge off the pain radiating through her mind. Only after they'd completely drawn their presences behind their shields could they continue on.

Din glanced back at them, concern bleeding out of him and they were only able to pick it up because they knew him so well. With their shields so tight and their presences drawn so far in, they were just slightly better than null as far as their senses were concerned at that moment.

Rey waved him off and they walked further into the horrific building.

They shouldn't have been surprised. Orvax was a former slave planet. One used exclusively to hold and auction slaves. And no one had lived on it after the Rebellion of the Freed had overthrown the masters and taken the slaves away. She imagined not many would want to.

They came to a stop in a more open room. The walls were still made of harsh durasteel, but the chains attached to it were plated shiny copper and gold whilst the furniture was plush and inviting, even if some of the cushioning was flat and rotting from years of neglect.

"Get comfortable," Numa ordered. "We should be underway shortly. We're only waiting on one more group."

With that, she walked off.

Rey's eyes skated over the people in the room. She counted four other groups, each between two and six people while there was another seven individuals floating around the room, watching critically.

Before she and Yedra could even begin to think about what they'd all gotten themselves into, a woman with a side mullet and arms more muscly than any she'd seen, strode up to them, clapping Din on the back.

"Mando," she laughed.

Rey quickly relaxed her grip on her spear when Yedra supplied a name, along with a quick flash of memories. This woman was Carasynthia Dune.

"Cara," Din greeted, his tone warm even if it had a slight edge to it.

"I'm glad you could be contacted for induction."

"I thought you were helping on Nevarro?"

Cara smirked but her voice was quiet when she spoke next so that the others around them couldn't hear what she said. "What makes you think Greef doesn't have a hand in this? He knows how to make the right friends."

Din grunted but trailed off and Rey knew he was thinking, evaluating the situation.

Cara turned to Rey and Yedra, raising her voice slightly, but not loud enough to draw attention.

"I heard rumours that you'd picked up another kid. I guess they were true."

Din placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Meet Rey," he introduced and Cara shot a smile at her. Din then put his hand on Yedra's head, "and Yedra."

Cara's eyebrows raised slightly as she properly looked at Yedra for the first time since entering. Rey knew the differences she was cataloguing. There was the obvious height increase (he was still below the average knee height, but it seemed they were both destined to be short for their species) and headdress, but from what Yedra and Din had told her of Cara, Rey thought she would be smart enough to also pick up the increased awareness in his eyes and the firmer way he held himself.

"Huh."

"Yeah. He's changed a lot. Mostly due to her," Din's voice was pitched low as he nodded at Rey.

Cara narrowed her eyes slightly. "So they're both…?"

Rey smiled up at Cara.

"If you see things floating around, don't shoot me."

Cara stared at her for a few seconds, before her mouth pulled into a grin.

"I like her," she told Din as Rey and Yedra walked a few steps away to peer around the room, trying to glean what they could without reaching out with the Force.

Yedra's keen ears still picked up the whispered conversation between their dad and Cara.

"He'd barely changed between the first two times I saw you guys. It's been less time now and he's almost grown up? He was a baby when I saw him last!"

"Well, he's not grown up. If I had to say, he's probably around the equivalent of twelve now," Din explained. "From what I understand, it was some weird Force connection that let him grow so fast."

"What the fuck is a Force connection?"

Before Din could attempt to explain to Cara his limited knowledge of the Force, the last group entered and then Din was lurching towards them, latching onto Rey's shoulder and pulling them back towards him.

Rey peered around Din's body at the group. It was made up of a light-skinned human, a flame red Devaronian and two blue Twi'leks, the male of which had some pretty nasty burns on his face.

"Those guys can't be trusted," he told Cara, a rough edge to his voice.

"That's what we're here to find out," Cara murmured. "This is just a trial mission for all of you."

Numa walked up to the slightly raised platform at the front of the room and cleared her throat, effectively distracting all of them.

"You're all here because the Alliance thinks you could help us," she began. "Some of you are criminals. Some of you are mercenaries. Some of you are vigilantes. But the one thing you all are is free of attachment. You have loyalties to neither the Empire, nor the Republic, which makes you perfect for what we want you to do."

"We have a job for you," she informed them. "You'll all be working on a different part of the same mission. Our people will go with you and monitor your activity and if we think you're what we're looking for, we'll give you another job. If not? We'll pay you and send you on your way."

Every eye in the room was trained on her as she glared balefully at them.

"Understood? Good."

It took about twenty minutes for Numa to explain the parameters of their mission, since each of them would be getting all the details of the specific jobs from whoever would be supervising them on their mission.

When she was done, Cara handed Din a small datapad that had been attached to his belt, who immediately handed it to Rey, who subtly connected it to her vambrace with a wire and began downloading the information as she allowed it to disappear up her left robe sleeve.

Din started striding out, clearly trying to make a quick exit, but they were approached by the last group that entered before they could even get a few steps.

The two Twi'leks were at the front, their faces pulled into fierce snarls.

"See this?" the male growled pointing at the ugly burn scar marring half of his face. "You did this."

Before he could continue anymore of his angry speech, the female pushed him back, stepping closer to Din. "You got us stuck in a Republic prison for _four months_."

She pulled a knife out of her belt. "I should kill you just for that."

Rey slipped the datapad onto her belt and put both hand on her spear. However, the humming of blasters charging filled the room.

"Try it and die," Cara growled.

Everyone in the group in front of them froze.

The human pushed to the front of the group, pulling both the Twi'leks back.

He looked around at the members of the Alliance, who still had their guns trained on them.

"We're only here to make some credits," he said, his hands up. "We need them enough that we can let a little grudge go."

He backed away, pulling the other three members of his crew members with him.

Rey kept her grip on her spear tight. She had a bad feeling about this.

\----

"If this is the sought of people the so-called Alliance is hiring, I'm don't want to join," Din informed Cara after they'd slipped into hyperspace. They were sitting in the main area whilst Yedra and Rey were still in the cockpit.

"Relax," Cara said, leaning back on her crate against the walls of the ship. "This is the bottom of the barrel batch. We don't expect much from them."

Din stared at her.

"What? We didn't know if when you'd come. It's purely coincidence you ended up with them. It's not like we've heard much from you in the last four months. At all."

Din glanced down, looking at the datapad with their job.

"I can't believe you let her fly," Cara grumbled, glancing nervously at the cockpit. "She's - thirteen did you say?"

Din shrugged. "She's almost better than me."

"You trust her a lot."

"She's my kid," Din scoffed without thinking. "Of course I do."

"You've changed."

Din tilted his head to the side. He supposes he had. "I was reminded of who I was. What it actually means to be a Mandalorian."

"I didn't say it was bad," Cara said, shaking her head. "Just different. It's good actually. You seem happier."

They lapsed into silence as Din slowly sifted through the information in front of him, knowing Rey and Yedra were doing the same up in the cockpit.

It was a thorough layout of the path they'd need to take through the compound, clearing a path through the basement and underground tunnels for the team that would kidnap Garizo the Hutt. However, it told him almost nothing about the group he had just gotten himself tied to.

"Can't you tell me more?" he asked.

"Sorry Mando. Alliance rules."

"I didn’t know you were one for rules."

Cara scowled and leaned forward, looking directly into his visor. "This cause? It's something worth fighting for. It's what I was searching for over the last decade. And I have a feeling that's what you've been looking for too. Plus, it pays well." 

Din snorted. "It better. I don't want to be risking my kids' lives for nothing."

Not that he actually thought they were in much danger. He'd read over the mission and listened carefully to Numa. Even the riskiest aspect of this job was better planned than most of his bounties.

Who knows? He might actually like working for these lunatics. If they could down a well-established Hutt as easily as they implied they could, they’re definitely worth working with.

About twenty minutes later, Rey jumped down from cockpit (literally jumped - she didn’t bother with the ladder anymore), Yedra landing on her shoulder a moment later.

"We're five minutes out," she informed them.

"I can land us two minutes out from our entry point," she told him. "We should have the right codes to get into the tunnel."

Din jerked around to face her. "We? What makes you think you're going."

Rey blinked at Din in the way he knew meant she was supressing an eye roll.

"You're going to need backup," she told him. "We'll stay behind you and cover your back. And we'll keep the sabers sheathed unless it's really necessary."

Din glared at her.

"We're good enough to take out a few goons."

"You think we won’t be able to handle ourselves?" Din grunted and Rey sighed, looking at him with wide eyes. Din felt something inside him twist.

_Oh no. She wouldn't dare._

"Dad, please. We need to go down there."

_She would. The little shit._

Din could feel his resolve crumbling. "Did you have a vision?"

Rey grimaced and shook her head slightly. "Just a feeling."

Din glanced at Yedra, who was staring at him, his ears slightly lowered.

He scowled. "Dammit you two."

He pointed at them. "You do exactly as I say down there, alright?"

Rey nodded at him, although she was still frowning.

"Elek, buir."

And then she was jumping back up to the cockpit.

When he looked back at Cara, she was grinning.

"You really are a father now."

\----

Cara really needed to stop hanging out with Mando.

Something always went wrong when she worked with him.

"What the fuck are stormtroopers doing here?" she asked, looking around at the bodies covered in white plastoid armour.

"How should I know? Your precious Alliance was the one that gave us this mission," Mando shot back at her, breathing heavily as he clutched his rifle in his hands, the prongs at the end bloody from where he'd slammed it through one bastard's neck.

"We didn't know we'd find…this!" she shot back, gesturing to the walls which were lined with cells filled with children, most of them little more than babes. "The building plans said this was just a clear hall."

"Stop arguing!" Rey snapped from where she was standing in front of one of the locks, her left vambrace connected to it as she fiddled with it. "We need to get them out of these cages by the time Team Two brings Garizo down here."

She pushed a button on her vambrace, and huffed when nothing happened.

Rey packed the connecting cords back into the little compartment in her left vambrace that held what looked like a mini datapad and tool kit before slamming it shut and dropping her wrists.

"I can't program them open," she admitted.

Suddenly, Cara's com went off.

"We have the package. We'll be there in five minutes. Be ready to escort."

Rey scowled and Yedra slipped his weird little metal stick with holes in it into his brown smock, sticking it to his back.

Yedra hopped down from her shoulder as they both produced these weird metal cylinders from where they'd been hidden in their robes.

"Rey…"

"This is necessary, Buir."

And then there were two beams of light streaming out of their weird devices.

"Woah. What the kriffing hell?" Cara yelled as they literally began cutting through the bars.

The solid metal bars. All of which melted away like they were butter.

Some of the children flinched back or yelped as the bars in front of them fell to the ground at two swift cuts from the children with the _glowing swords_ , but Din was quickly moving forward and helping them all onto their feet.

By the time Team Two got down to them, all the cells were open and the children - some one hundred of them - were standing, most of them having understood that they needed to stay quiet and run when they were told.

Cara didn't know how they were staying that calm, but the kids had done some weird thing with their hands when a few of them started crying and then they were all quieting. Even Cara felt her muscles relaxing a little.

Delta, the agent assigned to Team Two, took one look at the situation and snapped her gaze to Cara.

"We have a bigger ship," she informed them. "It can fit all of them."

Cara nodded. "Alright, so new plan. You take the kids back to a base and we'll get Garizo to the meetup."

\-----

Din glared at Cara.

"What do you know?"

They were all in the cockpit, with Garizo chained up in the hangar like Tana had been.

Cara pursed her lips.

Din crossed his arms, restraining himself from hitting the wall so he didn't scare Rey. He's pretty sure Yedra would find him having a temper tantrum amusing, but Rey really didn't take well to people with power over her being angry. Probably never would.

"Dammit Cara!" he growled. "What the hell was that?"

Cara held her hands up and she was scowling as she answered, "There _have_ been a huge increase in the amounts of kids going missing. That's what the Alliance is looking into. But this was meant to be unrelated. None of our intel said Garizo had ties to the children."

It wasn't much of a surprise. Even the Core had heard about the amount kids being taken. It was one of the reasons the Core had increased the amount of Cabur they allowed on offworld duty.

"So, what does that mean?" he asked.

"It means that whoever's taking the children is now allies with the Hutts," Rey said from her place in the pilot's seat, her voice small. "Right?"

Cara grimaced.

Din sighed. 

_Osik._

Din's day only got worse from there.

All the groups excluding Team Two were at the meetup, Numa having been exchanged for another Alliance member. He gave some speech about how the mission went, conveniently not mentioning the children.

He was, however, conveniently cut off just after he'd distributed the credits to everyone by the side of the wooden diner they were in exploding.

Half of one of the teams were downed by the blast but, luckily, Din's aliit and Cara were situated on the other side.

"Empire!" one of the sentries outside yelled before the voices were drowned out by blaster fire

Everyone was darting all over the place scrambling to get to their ships.

However, Din once again found himself cut off from the door by Qin.

"I'm going to enjoy bringing you in. Moff Gideon said he'd let me watch your execution and they're going to pay a pretty penny for your head," he called, smiling maliciously.

"You sold us out?" Cara snapped, her hand creeping behind her back.

Qin smirked at her, the scars on his face pulling sickeningly. "The Empire offered more money than you did"

Cara growled, but before the fight could escalate, Xi'an and Burg were thrown backwards, hurtling through the air and hitting the back wall of the diner.

Qin looked back at them in surprise, giving Din enough time to punch in the face, causing him to drop.

Cara pulled her blaster on Mayfield, who managed to dodge so the shot hit him in the shoulder instead of the chest.

And then they were running, sprinting towards the Razor Crest as they tried to avoid getting hit by blaster fire.

Most of the other ships were taking off and Din through himself behind the controls, taking off even as the hyperdrive was warming up.

Cara took up a seat on his right as they rose into the atmosphere and immediately had to start dodging TIE fighters. She brought up the weapons controls and began firing whilst he swerved.

"You really need to get rear guns," she grunted as she managed to get one, causing it to spiral off and towards the planet. "Or a turret."

"I don't exactly have the time," Din huffed. "Or the money."

Rey had the hyperdrive controls up as she knelt in between them.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked, her fingers skirting over the buttons but not pressing any.

"I don't know," Cara replied, voice strained, her voice strained. "We can't land in the Freed Systems. It'd risk the Alliance."

"The Inner Rim and most of the Middle Rim are out too," Din informed his daughter as he took the ship into a spinning dive. "We'd probably be flagged if we drop into Republic Space after an upset like this."

"You're just telling me where _not_ go. That still doesn't tell me what route to take."

Cara huffed as her shot grazed a wing of a TIE but didn't down it. They're ship shook as it was hit and lights started flashing throughout the cockpit.

"We might survive if you actually hit something!"

"Fly steadier!"

"I can't if we don't want to die!"

"Guys?" Rey questioned again.

"We don't know where to jump!" Cara snapped. "Use the kriffing Force or whatever - just get us out of here. Now!"

Din grunted in agreement, too distracted to worry as Rey took a deep breath and Yedra pressed a palm to her temple.

Her fingers flew across the controls, programming it in less than half a minute.

"We're ready!" she barked.

"Good!" Din replied and engaged the hyperdrive.

\----

"So, where the kark did you jump us to?" Cara asked after they were in hyperspace for about half-an-hour.

Rey ducked her head. She had been hoping that they would have gotten to their destination before she was asked that question.

"I don't really know."

"What! You don't know?"

Rey rubbed the back of her head, unable to meet Cara's angry gaze.

She sensed Din put a hand on Cara's shoulder, pulling her back slightly from where she'd aggressively leaned forward, even as he levelled Rey with an unimpressed stare that she could _feel_ even through the helmet.

"What does that mean, Rey?" he asked, voice smooth but strict.

Rey shrugged. "I used the Force?"

There was a pause.

Din's voice was still low and even, but tense with slightly restrained panic as he questioned, "Are you saying you guessed the coordinates - that you made a blind jump?"

Rey felt Cara tense, her horror and anger leaking out into the Force so much that it made Rey want to burrow into the floor.

"Sought of? The Force guided me when I programmed the jump."

"We're gonna die," Cara growled. "And all because you couldn't pick a route!"

Din snapped his head towards her. "Calm down. You can't access the ship's saved hyperdrive routes unless you're in the pilot or co-pilot seat. And we were kind of busy."

"And we're not gonna die," Yedra supplied.

Cara's stared at him, eyes wide, most of her anger replaced by shock in an instant. "He talks now!"

"Yes," Yedra said. "And we're gonna be fine."

\----

Lo and behold, two and a half days later, they dropped out of hyperspace, unharmed except for Din's slightly sprained ankle he got from falling off the ladder between the cockpit and the main hangar.

They were drifting just outside the orbit of a planet that looked to be mostly made of ocean, although, they could see a small island from their distance.

"Where the hell are we?" Cara asked and Din shrugged.

"The nav system got damaged in the assault. We're gonna need to land before we fix it."

Cara didn't protest as Rey landed them. Din tried not to be offended by that. The island was a little bigger than he'd expected but it was very rocky and covered in hills. There was even a large building surrounded by stone huts at the top of the mountainous terrain.

"People _live_ here?" Rey asked quietly as she touched them down.

"I've never heard of anywhere like here," Cara murmured, squinting out the windshield.

Din shrugged. "We may as well meet them. We're stuck here until we can repair the ship."

None of them were expecting to be met with an old, bearded man in weird beige and brown robes, waiting for them at the base of the mountain as they exited.

Both Rey and Yedra averted their eyes for a second after they first glimpsed him before looking back up, squinting as if they were trying to look directly into a sun.

The man, for his part, seemed to do the same when he glanced at the children, gaze skirting over them before he finally decided to glare at Din.

"What in all the Sith hells are you doing here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a
> 
> Elek, buir = yes dad
> 
> Osik = shit
> 
> \----
> 
> Things are starting to move along now.
> 
> We're getting into major plot point territory right here. 
> 
> Also, did you all spot the Clone Wars character cameo in this chapter?
> 
> Comment and tell me how you found it and if you like where it's going.


	14. This is Not Luke's Decade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know who we're gonna meet here.
> 
> Also known as reliable narrator who?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo stans who don't like him portrayed as a villain should probably brace themselves for this chapter.

Luke felt it as soon as the ship entered Ahch-To's airspace. It buzzed in the Force in a way that had him stumbling up from his position in the temple and racing down the path as fast as his body could carry him.

A speed, which was, admittedly, much slower than it would have been even six months ago.

He froze at the bottom of the hill, feeling weirdly like he was in his ship and had been pulled into the orbit of a black hole.

Of course, as soon as the ship doors opened he realised why.

At first, he thought he was seeing one Force signature so bright, he thought he might be burned up just by being on the same planet as them. However, when he looked back, bringing up his shields around his senses and distancing his connection to the Force even further than he already had he realised that there were actually two signatures in front of him.

Each of the children shone brighter than any other he'd seen. But he no longer feared some vengeful god had landed on Ach-To to make him atone for his sins. Force, though, they really were bright.

"What in all the Sith Hells are you doing here?" he asked turning his attention to the Mandalorian that had gotten off the ship with them.

His mind was reeling and his thoughts were scattered so much that he barely spared a thought to the presence of the deadly warrior. The presences battered against him, raw power that altered the very universe around them, bending it towards them as they orbited each other, locked so tightly together that no power could part them until the two supernovas consumed themselves.

No, these children were much more dangerous than gods.

"We got caught up in a skirmish as we were flying through the edges of the Freed Systems and had to do a blind jump," explained the woman standing beside the Mandalorian answered, crossing her arms and straightening.

"We just need to land here long enough to make repairs," the Mandalorian assured him. "We shouldn't be here too long."

The girl twitched at that, as if holding back a wince. The almost-movement drew Luke's eye as he looked at the children properly for the first time.

He froze.

Sitting there on the girl's shoulder was a creature that reminded him of Master Yoda. If Master Yoda had huge eyes and was cuter than a tooka kit.

The Force really was looking to punish him.

Luke's stomach rolled at the sight of the two children, so young and so full of potential. A year ago he would have jumped at the chance to help them grow. Now, he just wanted to bolt.

The Child-Yoda was staring at him, blinking up at him as he bled a sense of awe into the Force. The girl, however, was frowning slightly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, taking a half step forward before she paused, bringing up a hand to her head and digging her fingers into her hair.

Concern froze Luke's legs before he could make his escape. The need to help and to protect children which had moulded itself to his very soul when he rebuilt the Order keeping him there.

The girl shook her head, even as the two adults beside her both turned to her in concern, the tiny green creature jumping onto the Mandalorian's shoulder.

"Why-" she began but didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as she broke off with a cry.

Her feet gave out from under her and the Mandalorian was surging forward, catching her before she could hit the ground.

Luke felt something in the Force explode between them and the girl cried out once again, louder this time.

And explosion of Unifying Force energy surrounded the girl, enveloping her and then she was sending out a Force wave, instinctually trying to get it away from her, but only succeeding in throwing her companions away from her, which caused her to hit the ground as her support was thrown away from her.

Luke instinctually grounded himself, gripping the Force in a way he hadn't in months as he expertly moved through the waves of energy she was throwing out wildly, letting them flow around him as if they weren't even there at all.

He reached the girl, smoothing a hand over her forehead and sending a calming pulse into her mind. The girl quietened and the Living Force around her smoothed but she was still grimacing and the Unifying Force energy of the exploded shatterpoint still encased her in a roiling mess.

The Mandalorian and the woman sat up from where they had been knocked on their backs, following a few seconds behind the Child Yoda as he hopped towards them, hovering a few centimetres away where her head was resting on the ground.

The Mandalorian slid onto his knees beside the girl, his hands reaching out but not touching her.

"What's happening?" he asked, looking up at Luke desperately.

"A shatterpoint exploded around her," Luke told him. "She's trapped in a vision."

Child Yoda looked up at him sharply. "It doesn't feel like a vision."

For a second, all Luke could do was blink in surprise. His voice was like a parody of Yoda's. It was higher and smoother. And he spoke with proper grammar.

_Was the troll just messing with me the whole time?_

He shook himself out of it quickly (he hopes it was quickly) and tore his eyes away the ghost of his former master.

"It wasn't just a vision. From what I've read and what I've experienced through my training, shatterpoints are all consuming and very intense."

The Mandalorian bowed his head, still not touching the girl physically, but Luke could feel the man projecting feelings of calm and comfort as he took deep breaths. It didn't reach the girl, with how deeply she was consumed by her vision, but it did make the other child settle slightly.

"What can we do?" the woman asked, standing behind the Mandalorian.

And really, there was only one thing Luke could do.

"Bring her up to my hut. I won't be able to draw her out of it until it releases her but I can help her calm down once it does."

The Mandalorian nodded. "Is it safe to touch her?"

"Yes."

Not needing any more confirmation, the Mandalorian bent down and scooped the girl into his arms, cradling her close to his chest as he followed Luke up the uneven path.

Luke briefly entertained the thought of bringing her into the temple, but if Ahch-To's unique force presence was enough to awaken her latent shatterpoint abilities by simply stepping on it, he couldn't imagine what effect the power inside the temple would have on her.

Luke moved his rather small bed into the centre of the hut using the Force and the Mandalorian set her down on the bed. The man straightened, and then stared down at her for a few minutes.

"What can we do?" the woman asked, putting a hand on the Mandalorian's shoulder.

Luke glanced up at them, but kept most of his attention on the girl, monitoring her Force signature closely.

"She'll probably need water after she wakes up. And food. But nothing too exciting. Keep it bland."

The Mandalorian had shifted his attention to Luke as he listed off the things for them to get, nodding along.

"Also, she'll probably need something that calms her down."

Immediately, there were two responses.

"Tea!" Child Yoda yelled.

"Books!" the Mandalorian said, only slightly more restrained.

The woman nodded. "Right, Mando and I will go get water, food, tea and books."

"I'll wait here," Child Yoda decided, settling on the bed beside her.

The Mandalorian nodded and allowed himself to be dragged out of the room by the woman.

After a few minutes of tense silence, the boy glanced up.

"What's your name?" he asked blinking up at him as he hovered a hand out in front of himself.

"Luke."

The boy squinted and Luke felt like he was being pulled apart in a way that he hadn't experienced since the last time he'd seen Leia.

"Luke Skywalker?"

Luke froze and the child nodded, taking that as an affirmative.

"I kind of didn't believe you were real," the boy told him, his voice almost chirping.

Luke frowned. He didn’t need the hero worship spiel today. He didn’t deserve it.

"What's your name?"

The kid's ears twitched, one of them flicking backwards whilst the other remained facing his sister intently.

"Yedra… Djarin."

Luke nodded. He hadn't expected a last name.

The child - Yedra - nodded at the girl next to him. "That's Rey Djarin, my sister."

When Luke still didn't say anything, Yedra went on.

"The Mandalorian? He's my dad. We're adopted. Obviously."

Luke managed to give a reaction then, glancing at Yedra and pulling his lips up into a half smile.

"We're not meant to tell people that we're his kids, but you're Luke Skywalker so I guess it's alright. And I know you aren't lying."

Luke tilted his head slightly to the side, curious despite himself.

"Why?"

The kid shrugged. "I can always tell when people are lying."

Yedra looked back at his sister, both ears perking up and facing forward. "She'll wake up soon."

Luke refocused his attention on Rey, surprised to realise that Yedra was right. The shatterpoint energy around her had eased slightly, getting ready to release Rey from its visions. The shift was extremely subtle and meant Yedra must be exceedingly powerful and highly trained to feel such a small shift in the Unifying Force.

The Mandalorian and the woman entered just as the final bits of the energy was dispersing, silently setting the food down on the small table Luke had set up on one side of the hut.

Rey woke up with a gasp, sitting bolt upright and forcing Yedra to jump backwards and off the bed to dodge her flailing limbs. She breathed rapidly, and Luke realised she was approaching hyperventilating.

Instincts had him moving forward, enveloping her in a calming Force wave that helped her regulate her breaths and release some of the emotions that had been spinning around her like a storm.

Luke held out his hand and the bottle of water on the stand flew into his hand. As he handed it to Rey, who started guzzling water immediately, he spared a moment to think about the fact that this was most he'd used the Force in months. (He did not, however, let himself think about how _good_ it felt after denying this part of himself for so long.)

After she'd gulped what must have been half the bottle, Rey broke off, breathing deeply but steadily.

Her gaze finally seemed to focus as it strayed around the room, flicking between Luke and Yedra.

"That was…I saw…It was…"

She stuttered through a few more words before she broke off, looking down at her lap for a few moments before she looked up at Luke, her eyes red-rimmed and wide with fear.

"What _was_ that?" she asked.

Luke pushed down the memories her distraught face brought up, focusing on her desperation. He couldn't afford to become overwhelmed. This youngling needed him now.

"That's what it feels like to have a shatterpoint explode around you," he explained slowly, making sure she got it. "Instinctively erceiving them is an extremely rare Force ability that means you can essentially see cracks in the Force and in the very world around you."

He chuckled at her furrowed eyebrows.

"It's hard to explain clearly. You'll understand it more once you train. Regardless, an inherent ability in this Force power means you must extremely proficient in the Unifying Force."

Rey frowned, crossing her legs as Yedra jumped back up beside her.

"I think I've read a bit about the Unifying Force. The other side is the Living Force, right?"

She looked down and shuddered, pressing a hand to her forehead to ward off the pounding headache she no doubt had. Luke remembered them from his own brief stint in using shatterpoints a year ago, though not fondly.

"Can you teach me to get a bit of a handle on them?" Rey asked.

Luke felt his entire body seize up at the question, as he was lost in an assault of his own emotion. He slammed shut his connection to the Force, something that had become instinctive over the last few months.

"Master Skywalker?" Yedra asked and Luke stumbled back.

"No!" he heard himself yelling, even as he back-peddled, squeezing his eyes shut as he stumbled out of the hut, the screams of children (his students) echoing in his ears.

\----

The next morning found Rey sitting outside in a classic meditation pose a few minutes before the sun began rising. In front of her, Rey had set up a small battered teapot in its cradle over a fire, a few cups and a jar of one of the more moderate teas Rey liked sat beside it.

She'd taken up this routine about a month into her stay on the Core. Healer Deshra had heavily encouraged her to try as many hobbies as possible and gave her a small list of new ones to try at the end of each of their weekly sessions. Rey had dutifully tried her hand at each and every one, and had even continued on with a few of them. Yedra, on the other hand, had only done the first week's list, deciding to devote himself to playing his bes'bev (as well as a few other instruments) and sketching.

One of Rey's favourites had ended up being brewing tea, and she often did it multiple times a day. She loved experimenting with different blends, and Din had make sure to keep a few types on board for her.

Rey quickly sunk into her meditation as the water warmed, first turning her attention inward to make sure her mental state was healthy and that her shields were once again intact after yesterday. Then, she let herself expand outwards, gingerly avoiding the cracks she could now feel in the Force around her, instead trying to focus on the unique and powerful way the life on the island and the very Core of the planet felt.

She'd never been somewhere so thick with the Force. It was practically impossible not to touch it here, it was so present. It swirled around her pleasantly. Here there was no pull of Light or Dark, but a steady, constant flow between the two, making it easy for Rey to comfortable focus on the Force's currents without worrying about being pulled in either direction by whichever side was feeling stronger at that moment.

She sensed the water in front of her heating up to the right temperature and doled out the right portion of tea into the strainer on top of her cup, still in her trance. She'd been able to use this routine as a moving meditation after only a few practices. By now, her morning meditation and tea were grounding exercises that she looked forward to.

She felt a presence approach her. Well, no she didn't. She felt the absence of a Force signature approach. The void where the Force should flow was even more conspicuous than if there was just a regular Force signature approaching.

She turned as Master Skywalker came to a stop a few steps away, blinking up at him as she maintained her connection to the Force but also came back into her own body a little.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," Master Skywalker murmured.

Rey shrugged, feeling slightly spacy from her passive meditation. Usually it was a grounding technique that kept her alert and the Force buzzing through her veins as she performed other tasks, helping her do them more efficiently and effectively. However, after her morning meditation routine, the passive one manifested in a pleasantly calming hum throughout her entire body.

"It's alright. I need to practice keeping my meditation connection whilst doing other things as well," she assured the Jedi Master.

She couldn't tell how Luke felt about that, neither his void-like presence or impassive, bearded face betraying anything about his emotions.

"Can I join you?" he asks and Rey nods.

The man sat down with a grunt.

"Tea?"

"Yes please."

As Rey prepared a cup for him, using her meditation to split her focus between both steeping brews, she cut a glance at Master Skywalker, feeling her calm wobble a little as memories of yesterday surfaced.

Beside her, Luke sighed.

"I'm sorry."

Rey glanced at him as she extracted the strainer from her own cup, setting it on the small tray she'd used to carry her tea-making set out of the stone hut her and Yedra had shared the night before.

"Why?" she asked, in lieu of a better thing to say.

"I shouldn't have left you like that."

Rey doesn't know how to reply. She didn't want to further condemn the obviously in pain master but she didn't know if she could forgive him.

After he'd left her, there'd been a lot of confusion. Her dad and Cara both treated her like a bomb about to go off, staring at her whenever they thought she wasn't looking as they all set up camp for the night, deciding to look at the Razor Crest the next day. Even Yedra had been careful when he crept through her mind. Rey had managed to only set off one more shatterpoint before she went to sleep, and that one had been much less overwhelming, less iterations of pain violence death that differed slightly each time they replayed and more mundane political sessions that all blended together. Some of them ended with death and blood, but more ended peacefully, if a little tense.

She'd tried to talk about them with Yedra, but she honestly couldn't remember much of either. They had both thrown too much information at her at once.

"You are in much pain," was what she elected to say.

The void that was Master Skywalker, pulsed and then flickered, letting Rey feel a small lick of the deep well of grief and guilt before the sinking hole returned to normal.

"You're not wrong," he admitted, but Rey wasn't really listening.

She'd felt that Force signature before, heard the echoes of that pain in the Force.

The jolt that the revelation gave her disrupted the bond enough to wake Yedra up.

The wave of apology she sent over was closely followed by her rushed revelation.

Suddenly, Yedra's feelings towards the old master, which had been muted anger and frustration mixed with a fiercely protective outrage on Rey's behalf, mostly melted away, replaced with understanding.

_I'll be there shortly. Just let me wake up a little._

"I think I can begin to understand," Rey told Master Skywalker, speaking quietly. "Lady Kryze said the New Jedi Order had fallen. I think we felt it."

Luke looked up at her sharply, his presence pulsing past the void, but not enough for anything to leek.

"You think?"

Rey glanced down into her tea. "When we first touched our lightsabers, we each received visions. I saw your father destroying the Jedi temple as well as him and Obi-Wan fighting on Mustafar. But before that, we both shared a vision. One of a flickering red lightsaber with a cross guard and a room full of children. After that we heard a scream. Your scream."

When Master Skywalker only replied with silence, Rey withdrew the lightsaber that had been cleverly hidden under her robes.

Master Skywalker froze. "I know that saber."

"I suspect you do, since it’s your father's."

Master Skywalker's head snapped around as Yedra came over to sit by Rey's side.

Rey rolled her eyes at her brother's antics and drank her tea as she tried to ignore the cracks in the Force that were starting to shine, very carefully not touching them. Her brother was about to make a Big Decision.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

Both Rey and Master Skywalker both stiffened at the question.

Rey wanted to hit her brother, and was about to send him her intent, but he was blocking communication across the bond. The ois'ika.

The man looked down into his lap, the void that was his presence rippling.

"Why are you here? Alone?"

Master Skywalker actually flinched.

"Why aren't you out there helping? Why aren't you trying to catch the monster that did this?"

Rey managed to break through her brother's shield.

_Yedra! You are being cruel._

_I will not watch as another Grandmaster of the Order hides away to watch his people be hunted to extinction._

Yedra's ears were lowered and pointed slightly backwards, almost flattened against his head as they revealed his anger and desperation.

Master Skywalker was shaking his head, cringing back from Yedra's accusations.

"I can't!" he yelled.

He breathed deeply before whispering, "I can't."

"I just make everything worse."

Yedra's ears raised slightly. "How?"

The Jedi Master's breath was shaky as he blew out. His presence was flickering, and Rey could see him instinctively trying to reach out to the Force for comfort whilst simultaneously cutting himself off from it.

Something in the Force tugged at the back of her mind. She had pulled herself out of her meditation but the Force was still close and it was trying to tell her something.

She allowed it to flow through her, putting a hand out to her brother when she thought she understood what it was trying to tell her.

_Be quiet. You've cracked him._

Master Skywalker looked up at them and Rey could see the pain in his pale blue eyes. She'd seen that broken grief plenty of times in the scavengers that had served at the Niima Outpost, when a child died of starvation, when someone they trusted stole their haul.

"The one you saw… Ben… Kylo Ren - He is my nephew," Master Skywalker admitted. "He fell to the Dark. Joined Snoke - the leader of the remnants of the Empire - and his Knights of Ren. And it's my fault."

The man's head fell into his hands. "I pushed him over the edge. I'd sensed that something had changed in him. That he was beginning to Fall. I tried to help him, I really did, but he only wanted more power. He didn't listen when I told him he wasn't ready. He stopped talking to me."

Master Skywalker's fists clenched as he hit them against the ground next to him.

"I… I was scared. I could feel him slipping away. But he wouldn't _tell_ me anything. So I snuck into his room one night and read his mind."

He swallowed. "What I found there: the darkness, the hate, the willingness to do anything to get what he wanted. It scared me. He was already devoted to Snoke by then. The man had had him in his clutches for longer than I'd realised. It was only then that I realised Snoke was even the leader of the Empire. I'd been so blind."

A dry sob clawed its way from the Jedi's throat as he looked up at Rey and Yedra. "I couldn't just let him Fall. But I didn't know what to do to convince him. I acted out of fear and attempted to kill him. However, I stopped before I could make the killing blow. He woke up before I re-sheathed my saber."

Rey felt her jaw drop open. _Oh no._

Yedra grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut.

"It was the last straw. I… I pushed him over the edge. And then he…"

Tears were streaming down Master Skywalker's face. "I felt it… I feel it. Every time the Knights catch one of my students. It's like a part of my soul is ripped out each time."

Rey tried to imagine her bond with Yedra being ripped away, the feeling of it deadening between them and couldn’t. Her mind automatically skirted away from trying to formulate something that painful. It was uncomfortable enough when they willingly blocked the bond, which caused a dull ache in their minds and chests.

"I did try to help for the first few months," Luke said. "But Ren followed me wherever I went. My signature is strong enough that any well-trained Force sensitive can tell whenever I'm on the same planet. Ones as strong as Ren can feel from even further away. I can hide it, but only for a short while. Not long enough to keep anyone safe."

Yedra's ears twitched up further. "So you're trying to learn how to disguise your signature indefinitely?"

Master Skywalker glanced at him then nodded, tears still rolling down his cheeks. "It's a Dark technique but any Dark power can be accomplished with the Light if you practice enough."

Any animosity Rey had felt towards the Jedi had been eradicated in the face of the pain he was now feeling. The void that was his Force signature had faded away, revealing a giant sun that felt cracked.

She leaned towards him.

"Master -" she stopped when he flinched at the title. "Luke."

"We can't begin to understand your situation."

She took a deep breath, trying to summon as much of Obi-Wan's wisdom as she could and attempting to remember everything she Healer Deshra had taught her about dealing with guilt and trauma.

Rey reached out and slowly touched Luke's shoulder, telegraphing her actions clearly and giving him time to move away.

"It is not our place to judge your actions. It was an impossible situation and I can't tell you what I would have done in your place."

Luke's shoulders sagged at her words, his tears slowing.

"I can't teach you," he muttered, almost pleading. "I'm sorry."

Both Rey and Yedra felt a snap of horror across their bond immediately after his admission. Surges of anger and desperation whipping through them. Having just meditated, Rey was able to recentre herself quicker, examining her emotions and realising they were irrational.

Her mind immediately reminded her of what she'd seen in Obi-Wan's memories. Him and Qui-Gon had undoubtedly been a very effective pair and had loved each other dearly. However, the scars caused by their unfortunate beginning and tumultuous few years as master and apprentice had left scars on Obi-Wan's psyche which had plagued him for the rest of his entire life. Many of their issues had stemmed from the fact that Master Jinn had not been emotionally ready to be responsible for a child. That combined with Obi-Wan's anxious and self-critical disposition had meant that there was much unhappiness during Obi-Wan's childhood.

_We wouldn't want a similar situation. Luke isn't in the right place to teach us._

Yedra, who had been carefully monitoring her thought process, sent over a wave of agreement.

"There are others out there who could train us," he conceded.

Luke looked up at them, sighing in relief even as he frowned. "The few remaining Masters and Knights will have gone into deep hiding. It will not be easy to find them."

Rey shrugged. "We already have a location - Lothal."

Yedra nodded. "We will trust in the Force."

That felt right. The Force was… happy at the thought of them going to Lothal.

Luke's lips quirked up. "Bridger would be a good master. He is very close to the Living Force. Something that will benefit you, Yedra, immensely."

Both of them frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

Luke stood. "I think it's time you entered the Temple."

Rey followed him almost eagerly. They had both felt the pull towards the building ever since they set foot on the island but the time I hadn't been right before. They had needed to know where they stood first.

They completed the small trek up to the ancient building in silence, both Yedra and Rey soaking up the nearness of the Force on this planet. It was more in balance here than anywhere they had been before.

Luke pushed open the doors and both Yedra and Rey came to a stop as they gazed about the main room.

Dominating the centre of the room was a huge tiled mural of a cross-legged person holding a lightsaber, half their body tiled in black whilst the other half was tiled in white, with the background of each half the opposite colour to the person except for two circles on each side, each in contrasting colour to the background.

Rey and Yedra walked up to the mural, seeing that it was actually a very shallow pond. On either side of the room, directly opposite each other, were two other ponds, one projecting a bright warmth whilst the other emanated a leeching cold. Rey and Yedra didn't need to think about what they represented.

"What is this place?" Rey asked, looking up at Luke, who had wandered closer to the Light pond.

The man glanced at them.

"This is the First Jedi Temple."

Rey stared at the mural in front of her. "You mean the first Jedi was Grey?"

Luke shrugged. "It seems their commitment to the Light only came after the start of the Sith Empire."

Rey and Yedra were both consumed with a desire to reach out and touch the water in front of them. However, they held back admirably, and instead decided to sit down in front of the pond and open themselves up to the Force.

Never before had they seen the Light and the Dark so close yet so at peace. Here, neither side was battling for dominance, content to dwell in their little ponds whilst the true spirit of the Force, the flow between all things pulsed throughout the planet, uncorrupted by the whims of sentients seeking to use it.

The feel of it was intoxicating.

When they came back to themselves enough to register the physical world, Luke was looking at them with a smile on his face.

"You have chosen to walk a difficult path. To stay in perfect balance."

Rey blinked at Luke. "Balance is the way of the Force."

"You can be Light and still keep the Balance."

"We know. However, that is not our calling," Rey answered easily, realising Luke's comment was just that, and not a censure or judgement.

Rey raised her left shoulder in a half shrug. "For those who struggle to balance their emotions, the Light side can be a comfort. I suspect many of the Jedi danced between the middle and the Light, even during the Republic."

Luke actually smiled at that. "If you are including me in that implication then you would be correct. And you would also be correct in saying that I take comfort in my Light."

Rey gave Luke her own placed smile. "The Light is not as corrupting as the Dark. You are not at risk of killing everything you love because of your own selfishness. However, you are at risk of pushing everything you love away in the name of your own selflessness. It's a careful balance."

Luke nodded, conceding the point.

Then he started walking towards a balcony. "Come, I may not be your Master, but I can still probably help you master your shatterpoint ability better than anyone alive. The nuns have been looking at your ship in the middle of the night and one of the engines will need to be completely rebuilt. They can do it - there are some very ancient remnants of ships in the lower levels of the temple, but it will take them some time. Just long enough for you to learn how to not get sucked into constant visions."

The nuns had come to them last night. Giving them a surprisingly tasty fish stew that they'd all been wary of at first. She'd heard Cara and Din murmuring about trying to catch a few of the small birds they'd seen covering the island as Rey and Yedra went to sleep.

"You too, Yedra. I suspect that you will be able to grasp the more… solid aspects of the gift."

Rey scowled. "That's the second time you've said something deliberately mysterious regarding our abilities. What do you mean?"

Luke turned to them as they stepped into the sunlight, which was quickly lightening from rich orange to yellow.

"You two have an unusually strong and unique bond. You radiate balance, in both viewpoints of the Force."

She and Yedra both tipped their heads to their sides in identical looks of confusion.

Luke snorted lightly at their looks.

"I'm sorry. I've spent the last two and a half decades perfecting the Jedi Master persona. Forgive me if I lean into it a bit. It's the first time I've gotten to use it in months."

_Will he just get on with it?_

Luke glanced at them sharply and smiled indulgently, causing both Rey and Yedra to duck their heads sheepishly. They must have projected they’re shared thought.

Luke nodded at them and cleared his throat as he began explaining. "You are both balanced between the Light and the Dark side of the Force, the sides formed by sentients when they began shaping the Force to their will on a large scale. However, each of you represents an opposing aspects of the Force on a different scale: the Living Force and the Unifying Force."

Rey's eyes widened.

"Rey has a million in one ability of detecting shatterpoints naturally, and I suspect you also have a bit of psychometry if your reaction to my father's lightsaber can be replicated. And just this morning, I have seen you listen to nudgings from the Force to help predict your next actions. You are immersed in the past and the future. Conversely, Yedra is hyper aware of the present around him. You said to me that you can always tell when someone is lying. You can constantly use the Force to manipulate your body and those around you. And I suspect you also have a few other rare Living Force abilities."

They both immediately thought of Yedra's ability to heal, something they hadn't found in any of the books they'd read.   


"Of course, that does not mean that you are completely disconnected from the other side of the Force," Luke said, looking at them seriously. "In fact, I suspect that you are both strong in both aspects of the Force. However, it is through your bond that you are both able to subconsciously amplify one another's abilities in each side of the Force."

Rey and Yedra's mouths dropped open.

All three of them snapped around when they heard laughing off to the side.

Standing a few metres away from them was the blue form of Anakin Skywalker, laughing hysterically.

"What do you want, Skywalker?" Rey asked, crossing her arms.

Anakin shook his head as he managed to control himself. "Nothing. It's just that my son's a genius."

He snorted. "And, with you two, that makes it five weirdly powerful prophecy children in a century."

Luke sighed. "Not that I don’t enjoy your presence, Father, but is there something you want to say? We were about to do some training."

Anakin shook his head again, still grinning. "I'm just here to say that you'll probably see a bit more of Obi-Wan and Yoda while you're here. It's easier to be present on this planet, since the Force is so close. Windu says he's storing energy to help you when you leave. Since he actually had the ability when he was alive. So, look forward to him invading your dreams."

"Anything else Father?"

"Nope." Anakin plopped himself on the ground (did Force Ghosts even need to sit?). "I'm just here to watch."

Luke rolled his eyes and turned back to the two of them. "Right. Why don't we have a little dive into the Force?"

\-----

It took a little over a month for the Nuns to fix the ship. Over that time Rey had managed to get enough of a handle on the shatterpoints that she was no longer at a high risk of being caught off guard by setting one off if she concentrated.

Yedra and Luke had also spent a lot of time meditating together whilst Rey was watching the Nuns fix the ship and becoming acquainted with the technology they were using (it was so old that it took her a whole week to get the hand of it) and her brother now pulsed with a new life. Rey could practically feel the plants and lifeforms around him being drawn inwards.

At first, their dad and Cara had been hesitant.

_"I don't know if we can trust him," Cara said, a week into their stay as they all sat around the fire._

_Din nodded. "Why won't he leave with us?"_

_"He's hurting, buir," Rey murmured. "I know you can't feel it, but it's like he's bleeding. That sought of wound won't heal anytime soon."_

_"Besides, he's helping us at the moment," Yedra put in._

_Cara scowled. "I still don't like it."_

_She always eyed Luke warily whenever either of them trained with him, and she'd taken to never straying too far from either of them._

_They'd settled into a shaky routine over the past few days, sectioning off a few hours in the day for their studies, a few for training with their Dad and Cara, and a few for meditating or listening to Luke.  
_

_The Jedi Master had many incites about the Force and was happy to debate with them and enlighten them on his own perspectives of the Force. Rey privately thought that it helped that neither of them treated him with the deference of a teacher._

_Their dad looked up at them, moving over to sit in between them and hugging them close._

_"I just worry. You two need a teacher. Sooner rather than later."_

_"And we will, buir," Rey urged him quietly. "Luke just isn't ready yet."_

_"Yeah," Yedra supported. "He wouldn't even touch the Force a week ago. It felt really weird being around him. He was like a black hole."_

_Rey glared at her brother, shooting mental spikes of irritation at him. "Luke, Obi-Wan and Yoda all agree that we must trust in the Force. We can't force things like this to work, they have to happen naturally."_

_Yedra responded to Rey's attack by tugging at her hair with the Force._

_Rey squawked and was about to shove him hard when Din put a hand on her shoulder, leaning down to either side of himself and pressing his forehead to Rey's and Yedra's respectively._

_"I love you both so much."_

_Across from them, Cara shifted on her log._

_Din glanced up at her and Rey could tell he was glaring under his helmet._

_"What? The handbook said that open communication is key to a good relationship."_

_Cara shrugged. "It's just cu - wait there's a handbook?"_

_Din shrugged. "This happened a lot amongst our people."_

_Cara shook her head. "Kriffing Mandalorians."_

Din and Cara were making the final preps before they left whilst Rey and Yedra said their goodbyes to the Jedi Master. Both adults were more than ready to re-meet with the Alliance. Freeing slaves felt good.

Luke inclined his head towards them. "Good luck to you both. I wish you well with your future Masters."

Rey and Yedra had both nodded at them. They'd each gotten visions of their masters - apparently they would each have their own, though even that aspects of their visions had been vague. Rey had gotten a vague flash of blue and white, a kind smile and a ruffle of feathers (she thought it was an owl maybe?), whilst Yedra had seen image of two parallel scar lines on a cheek and a glimpse of midnight blue hair.

Rey handed Luke a large jar of the tea he had most liked from her stocks. "Don't go crazy on this island, Luke."

Yedra grinned. "When we return for you, you better have a cool new way to disguise your Force signature to teach us."

Luke nodded. "Remember to work together."

They both bowed deeply at him (Yedra making sure to jump off her shoulder first, since the first time they'd tried to bow, he'd fallen over as Rey fell over).

Rey looked Luke in the eye. "Don't cut yourself off from the Force again. Confront your problems."

Luke scowled playfully. "You kids… no respect."

They stared out the window as Ahch-To disappeared from their view, knowing they would return someday. And when they did, their world would be very different than it was now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a
> 
> osik'ika = little shit
> 
> I just want everyone to keep in kind that I don't believe anyone is really a completely reliable narrator. 
> 
> If you can't already tell, I really hated how they portrayed Luke in TLJ and TROS. My only way of marrying OT and Legends Luke with TLJ is by saying that Luke reacted to the death of the New Jedi Order by cutting himself off from the Force and that Did Not Go Well for him. 
> 
> Rey and Yedra show up to snap him out of it because this is a fix it fic and I'm damn well gonna fix it the way I want it. 
> 
> I do not dislike Qui-Gon, I just don't think he was ready to take Obi-Wan as his padawan and they both suffered for it. I do dislike Kylo Ren. I think he is a compelling villain though. 
> 
> Lots of actual plot stuff is gonna happen in the next few chapters and then we're gonna get a few chapters of just weird Mando adventures. 
> 
> I wish I could have made Luke their master, but he really isn't emotionally ready and whilst Rey and Yedra could have helped him heal, it's not fair on them to put them in that situation. They would be a powerful team, but they wouldn't have been as conducive in the first few years as the children need. 
> 
> Calls for who are going to be their masters? I kind of outright stated who Yedra's master is gonna be but I think Rey's master is a little more of a mystery.


	15. The Lady with the Lightsabers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of stuff happens.

"Come on, come on, come on," Rey muttered as she finished the wiring under the panel.

"Dad and Cara will be getting back soon," Yedra reminded her in a slightly sing-song voice.

"I'll get it done! I'll get it done! He'll be up by then."

"You know you don't _need_ to get it done?"

Rey waved a hand at Yedra before returning it to the delicate technology she was fixing.

"I know, I know. But I want to surprise him. And Cara's been commenting about how his body's been cluttering up the floor for weeks. At least when he's done, he can stay upright on a charging port or fold himself up."

Yedra's ears twitched back in irritation and he made sure to push it towards her over the bond, prickling away at the back of her head.

_Well then get it done!_

"I will! I will!"

She clipped the last of the wires in place, connecting the personality matrix to his coordination lines.

"There."

She closed the panel over the back of HK-54's head and stood up, disconnecting him from its charging station and taking off the inhibitors that were keeping him inactive as she moved to stand in front of him.

For a few second, nothing happened, and Rey felt her heart sink.

_I knew integrating that tech from Ahch-To was a bad idea._

Rey was about to send a reluctant wave of agreement towards her brother at his statement when the air filled with the charge of electricity as HK-54's systems slowly started coming online.

After a few seconds, the droid uncurled from where it had been slumped propped against a small stool, it's eyes lighting up amber as its visual processors turned on.

"Hello?" Rey asked, crouching down so that they were at eye level.

"He…lo?" the droid's voice was deeper and more gravelly than Yedra's, though it had the same chirpy quality to it, and was quite a bit higher than Din's.

The droid glanced around, the amber light in its eyes flickering on and off, before it looked directly at Rey and Yedra.

"Where am I? Why am I here?"

"You are on a gunship known as the Razor Crest," Rey explained, speaking slowly and clearly to give his auditory processors time to catch up. "As for why you're here… what do you remember?"

The droid's head tilted downwards as it thought. Yedra's hand subtle tightened around his lightsaber.

"I remember… I was given an assignment. I was to capture two children and await orders for termination or delivery. I was entering the assets' rooms and then-," the droid broke off, it's vocodor emitting a small buzz of static. "My memory drives indicate a flash of light indicative of blaster fire. I should be deactivated. Predictions indicated that my body would have been used for spare parts. Why am I here?"

Instead of answering, Rey tilted her head to the side. "Do you remember anything else? Perhaps something before the operation?"

HK-54's body tilted back slightly. "I was dropped off on a planet with a team of other assassins. My master said it would be a high paying job. He directed me not to save any of my teammates as we would get an even larger share if less people survived."

Rey nodded. "I was wondering about who you worked for. IG units generally work for guilds and are independent within them. However, HK units, like you, usually serve individuals, your masters."

The droid raised its chin so it was looking at them. "Why would I do that? I remember serving him, but I do not remember why? There is no logical reason. I was not given a restraining bolt."

Rey frowned as she took the a small data chip out of her belt. "There was a control chip implanted into your personality matrix. Which is, incidentally, where I learnt your designation. I thought you knew?"

Yedra and her had had more than one argument regarding Rey's decision to remove the control chip, but a few of the droids on Jakku had been the closest thing Rey had had to friends, and she'd despised watching how trapped they'd been under their restraining bolts. Whilst Rey had been forced into compliance with threats of beatings and food restriction, they literally didn't have a choice in their actions, even if they wanted to take different ones. It seems HK-54 hadn't even had that.

The droid's fist clenched. "I did not."

Rey shifted from her crouched position so that she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, feeling the slight burning in her legs ease at the movement. "Well, now you do know. Is there something you'd like to be called? I know your designation but is there a name you'd prefer?"

The droid's body jerked. "You're… asking me?"

Rey nodded. "Of course. I don't want to call you something that bothers you."

The droid stared in front of himself for a few seconds. "I expect that I will be comfortable with my designation or variations on it."

Rey stared at him for a few seconds before she nodded again. "Okay, but you can tell me if you change your mind."

The droid was silent again for a few moments before he looked back at Rey. "What will happen to me now?"

Rey shrugged. "You have a few options. You are welcome to travel with us as part of the crew or you can be dropped off on any planet sufficiently close to us. We are about to go on a job, so I'm afraid it can't be too far out of the way. I must warn you that if you decide to stay with us and then change your mind, we may have to ask you to wipe your memory. I'll try and find us someone who can just wipe a part of it, but we have secrets to keep."

HK-54 nodded. "That seems fair. Though, I do not know where I would go."

"Take your time to think about it. For now, why don't we get you standing? I don't think your coordination unit was damaged when I shot you, but you might still have some problems since so much else was damaged."

The droid accepted her arm as she pulled him up to his feet. He wobbled a bit and Rey let him lean on her as he readjusted to moving again.

"You shot me?" he asked, once he stopped swaying, though he didn't move away from her steadying grip. "You were my targets weren't you?"

Rey blushed and then nodded. She hadn't meant to reveal that. She was generally pretty good at not letting things slip, but she'd become disarmed by how straight forward the droid was.

HK-54's hold on her arm tightened slightly. "Why did you repair me then?"

Rey leaned away from him slightly, frowning. "Well, you didn't have a choice. From what you've told me, you didn't even know you _could_ have one. It wouldn't be fair to condemn you for something you don't have control over."

There was another bout of silence and Rey valiantly fought back the urge to sigh. He really was progressing very quickly, but Rey hoped he would have some sort of decision made before her dad and Cara got back.

"Look, Ache-kay, take some time to think. My Dad and his um… business partner?… friend?...comrade?... My Dad and Cara will be back soon and things might get a bit hectic after that and I can't promise that we won't have to memory wipe you before you get another chance to leave."

They were in a fairly busy spaceport for Cara to meet her contact, so it shouldn't be too hard for the droid to find something to do or some way to get to where he wanted if they needed to move quickly to get to their next mission.

When the droid was silent for a bit longer, Rey's stomach twisted in worry.

"I can call you something different if you don't like Ache-kay," she assured him quickly.

The droid shook his head. "No. I am fine with Ache-kay."

He swung his head around to look at her. "I will go with you."

"Are you sure? It'll be dangerous. You'll probably be left on the ship since your armour-plating hasn't been updated in a while and I don't know if we have any weapons that you'd like but I can't guarantee that it won't get attacked."

"I want to stay with you."

Rey's eyes widened at the hard edge to its voice, but she nodded.

_He is hiding something._

Rey sent a ripple of surprise at her brother's assessment. She hadn't been able to pick anything up concerning the droid's emotions through the Force. The only thing she was able to register through the present was the hum of energy that came from his power core.

_Is it bad?_

_Yes._

_Will it hurt us?  
_

_I don't know._

Rey sent the mental equivalent of a shrug back at him, projecting her own assessment of the droid. She'd sensed no danger from him. The fault lines that now made up another layer of her perception of the world around her didn't form any large shatterpoints, and neither did they hum with any impending doom.

_He's still hiding something._

Rey sunk further into the Force, her normal vision falling away as she focused on the layer that she usually just felt instinctively, seeing the hum of energy coursing through Achekay's body. It didn't glow like biological things did, but it pulsed more than non-sentient mechanical objects.

Still, Rey couldn't sense any flow of energy other than the electricity coursing through its systems. She tapped further into the newest layer that she usually kept behind a thin shield so she wasn't always affected by the jagged cracks that constantly shifted as faults appeared and disappeared and exploded.

Rey focused on it, the cracks that continuously grated at the edges of her mind becoming more obvious as she almost felt the fragile shards as she lightly immersed herself into the tides of the past and future.

The world around her shook with tremors as the future constantly reshaped itself.

The cracks around Achekay didn't shake anymore violently than the usual ones. And they seemed tiny in comparison to the cracks that regularly bloomed and healed between Rey and her brother.

She reached out with her presence, running it lightly across the cracks but not peering into them. She didn't get any sense of urgency from them, and she didn't want to immerse herself in them, hearing the echoes of Master Windu's warnings he'd imparted on the first night off Ahch-To.

_The ghost had lead her a little bit away from the others in the shared space between Yedra and Rey's mind: a place they'd realised was the manifestation of their bond. It was a false semblance of privacy, since Yedra could hear everything she heard - it wasn't like she couldn't effectively hide anything from him without putting some effort into it, but she appreciated the effort._

_He'd looked her directly in the eye, the guarded expression he usually wore, even when smiling, melting away as an almost desperate look entered his eyes._

_"Choose what you look into carefully," he'd told her. "If you don't guard yourself, you'll go mad."_

_Rey had nodded swallowing._

_"I need to keep shields up, right? That's what Luke said."_

_Mace pressed his lips together. "If you don't, you'll see the absolute worst in everyone, all their weaknesses and the most awful things they could do to you and your loved ones."_

_Rey glanced down. "What if I slip?"_

_She knew it was going to happen at some point. Keeping the shields up in the back of her mind had ben draining even on Ahch-To, and there the Force had been content and very willing to help her._

_Master Windu sighed. "You should talk about whatever you see. Meditation also helps. Make sure you find time for both or everything will just build up and you won't be able to escape it. Take it from someone with experience."_

_Rey looked up at him, her eyes wide._

_The Korun shrugged. "It's difficult to find time during a war."_

_Rey nodded sympathetically, expanding her Force presence to brush comfortingly against Master Windu's, though she didn't go close enough to brush against his shields. The man jerked looking up at her, before his lips twitched upwards and he reached out with his own presence, curling it around hers lightly._

_"Your Skywalker showed you those dynamic shields. They'll help you distance yourself from the shatterpoints whilst also staying in touch with the Force."_

_"It's a careful balance."_

_Master Windu looked at her sharply. "And you're all about balance, aren't you?"_

_Rey ducked her head._

_"Hey," the Korun Master said, prmopting her to glance up. "I understand walking that line more than most. I was still Light, but like your Skywalker, I understood those shades of grey. That's why I invented Vaapad, to help me manage my darkness and use my weakness for good. Just, don't lose yourself, alright?"_

_Rey nodded and bowed. "Yes Master Windu."_

_The ghost couldn't quite hold back his smile._

There were echoes of future pain, but there really wasn't anything too alarming.

_Just let it be, Yedra._

Yedra flicked his ears backward.

Their impending fight was cut off as the ship's door opened.

They both stared at the droid standing in between Yedra and Rey.

"I can't believe it," Cara said. "You actually got it working."

Din glanced at Achekay. "Is he staying here?"

Rey nodded. "Yeah. He is."

Her dad looked at the droid for a few seconds before he shrugged. "Alright."

He sauntered into the ship and up to the cockpit.

Cara walked up to them, putting a hand on Rey's shoulder on the way through.

"Come on, kids," she said, grinning at them. "We're heading to the Dustig system."

\----

Ahsoka Tano was waiting restlessly on Nuvar.

Numa was leaning against one of the walls, a stack of datapads on the table beside her, ready to give her the information for the next mission.

"I can't believe you get to go on missions, and I don't," the turquoise Twi'lek grumbled.

Ahsoka snorted. "It's your fault for taking up such a high position."

Numa glared at her. "You should talk, General Tano."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "You know Hera's the real leader of this whole operation."

"And she still gets to go on missions!"

"You go on missions."

"Not in months!"

"Well, then you shouldn't be so good at organising all this."

Numa huffed and crossed her arms.

Smiles slipped onto both their faces and Ahsoka let herself enjoy the moment. The galaxy was officially at peace, but there was still so much work to do. The past few months had been even more strained than usually, especially with whispers of this new First Order rippling through the Outer Rim.

Those at the Lothal Outpost thought that they could possibly be behind the staggering amount of children that had been taken over the last twenty years. And there was only one reason for that many children to be taken in that short a time.

Someone was trying to build an army for a new Empire.

It was a sobering thought that stole the smile for her lips.

"So, who am I going on this mission with?"

She usually went on missions with a delegation of those from the Vode, which was made up of the clones and their various children and grandchildren. However, Rex and Cody's companies were on a mission with Kanan and his Padawan, Depa Wren, in the Tion Cluster to observe negotiations for Raxus to join the Freed Systems, and the rest of the squads were also occupied with various operations for the Abolition Alliance.

Although Boil, who never missed an opportunity to see Numa, and Kix, who was not at all confident they wouldn't get themselves injured, had been able to come with them and were sitting next to each other on a bench.

Ezra strode into the room, a pair of Lothe Wolves following closely behind him whilst one of the local birds rested on his shoulder.

Ahsoka smirked.

"What?" he asked. "You know I can't help it."

She shook her head. The Force was thick around Ezra, like it always was, his natural charisma and talent in the Living Force drawing animals to him wherever he went. It was amazing to see.

Ahsoka had always been more in touch with the Unifying Force, listening for whispers of what she would need to do, and letting it nudge her towards where she needed to be.

"What's the news?" she asked, crossed her arms.

"A ship sent a hailing message. It says they're five minutes out."

"That must be the rest of your team," Numa informed them.

"You said they were rookies?" Ezra asked as he casually sat on one of the tables, both wolves sitting on the floor beside him. A third Lothe wolf uncurled from the corner of the room and padded over to lie at Ahsoka's feet.

"The group has only been on one mission together," Numa conceded. "However, Agent Dune has done quite a few operations with us, all successful. Her last mission - which was a testing for a bunch of new recruits - got ambushed in the recon stages. Garizo, their target, ultimately was saved by a bunch of Imps, but they did manage to rescue two hundred and five children from his underground cells, all of whom the team had freed before the other team could meet up with them."

Ahsoka nodded, leaning forwards. "So, they're good?"

Numa nodded. "Very efficient. Dune is a former Rebel shock trooper and the other combatant is a Mandalorian Warrior - one of the really serious, deadly types who don't take their helmets off. The Mandalorian also has two children with him. He told me he's given them work on his ship but they’re probably his kids. Reports from the last mission says they're trained enough to know how to at least hold a weapon as well as keep up with the adults, but they're both young."

"Oh, great," Boil harrumphed. "We're gonna have to babysit."

Everyone in the room politely ignored how much they didn't believe his sarcasm.

Ezra shrugged. "We can let Chopper and AP-5 watch over them. They need a distraction from the fact that Sabine basically kicked them off planet so she, Alrich, Alex and Zeb could get some peace."

"You didn't leave them out there to lead the newcomers in, did you?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, I have to show them what they're dealing with, don't I?"

That earnt him a round of snorts as Ahsoka shook her head and Ezra chuckled, the Force singing around him with his joy.

Ahsoka leant into the feeling. The Force had been steadily becoming more uneasy over the last few years. She hadn't been able to feel quite right ever since those few months ago when….

Ahsoka cut herself over before she could think about it. She'd hoped that she wouldn't have had to feel that ever again after the last time fifty years ago. This time had nearly broken her.

Her, Kanan an Ezra had all been stuck in the (rebuilt) Lothal temple for a week trying to heal from the psychic recoil of so many force sensitives dying at once.

Ezra reached out gently with his own Force presence as Boil, Numa and Kix talked quietly amongst themselves.

She glanced up at him and smiled a little, allowing their presence to mingle a bit as she found comfort in the happy, headstrong young scavenger who had grown up to become one of her closest friends.

Ahsoka was jerked into awareness as a bird flew into the room, causing Kix, Boil and Numa all ducked. Ahsoka just smiled up at the owl, the friend that followed her to every planet no matter where she went, the last remnants of the Daughter's spirit always looking out for her.

However, her attention was diverted as the Force around her shook, her gaze ripping away from her friend and towards group that walked into the room.

She almost had to squint to look at them, the children blazed so brightly.

She should have been examining Dune and the Mandalorian, cataloguing their threat levels if they turned out to be Imps or to see how much use they'd be in a fight.

She should have been staring at the little green boy standing on the girl's shoulder, the one that reminded her of Masters Yoda and Yaddle, who were meant to be the only ones of their species.

She should have been marvelling at the fact that the bond between the two Force Users in front of her was so strong that she could literally feel the threads connecting them.

But she wasn't paying attention to any of that.

Like Ahsoka, the girl had been staring at the owl as she walked into the room. They locked eyes as they both simultaneously tore they gazes from it.

She locked eyes with the girl and she felt like a live wire had been shoved against her chest. One leading straight to the little girl who had just walked into the room.

Everything around them seemed to dim as Ahsoka looked at her. The girl blazed in the Force, just like the other Child. There were only three times she'd felt something this strong. And both Leia and Luke had had good enough shields to not completely assault her senses.

The Mandalorian stepped slightly in front of the children, hand resting on a blaster at his hip.

"What's going on here?" he asked. Beside him, Dune tensed, eyes flitting between Numa, Boil and Kix whilst the Mandalorian swivelled his gaze between Ezra and Ahsoka.

The small child jumped up onto the Mandalorian's shoulder and patted his helmet.

"It's alright, Din," the girl murmured, stepping around the Mandalorian.

Now that she was back in Ahsoka's line of sight, Ahsoka started taking in her physical appearance. The girl was swathed in a brown robe that was a little too big for her and her hair was pulled into three buns. Beneath her robe, the girl was wearing dark grey sand robes and on her head she had a headdress that Ahsoka recognised as one of the invisible helmets Alrich, Depa and Sabine had been working on. A spear was sheathed at her back, just like the boy.

The child leaped down off the Mandalorian's shoulder but before either child could move forward, they were intercepted by a Lothe wolf, the one at Ahsoka's feet uncurling and slinking over to the girl and one of the ones sitting near Ezra prowling up to the boy.

The Lothe wolves were still young - part of the reason why Ezra had decided to take them - so they only game up to the girl's chin height. Everyone in the room tensed.

The boy just blinked up at his wolf with wide eyes, causing the wolf to huff, before allowing the child to climb up onto its head.

The girl took a second longer to react, initially taking half a step back in her shock.

Ahsoka's hand strayed to her hip, where her lightsabers were concealed by the white robe she had taken to wearing. She'd felt the girl's spike of fear and she knew as well as anyone how a Force Sensitive's emotions could affect animals around them.

However, the boy glanced over at the girl, and she took a deep breath, the emotions she was projecting into the Force dimming until she'd properly shielded them.

"Hello there," she murmured, slowly reaching out a hand, but not actually touching the wolf. The other hand was clutching tightly around the strap of the holster keeping the spear to her back.

Ahsoka felt a sense of calm projected out from the girl. The wolf in front of her twitched, sniffing at her hand for a few moments before he butted his head against her hand. Ahsoka let out a sigh.

A small smile slipped onto the girl's face as she ran her hand through the wolf's fur and Ahsoka was suddenly reminded of a lifetime ago.

The robes were a little too big for her and it was a few shades darker than the traditional Jedi robes used to be, but the image was still too similar for her _not_ to be reminded of them. Wrapped in robes the same dark brown that Anakin preferred, looking down with _that_ smile and _those_ words still echoing around Ahsoka's head, Ahsoka couldn't decide just which ghost she was seeing at that moment.

Ahsoka blinked and then the image was gone as the girl let out a giggle whilst the wolf moved forward and licked her chin.

"What the kriff is happening?" Dune asked. "Is this more weird Force stuff? Because I'm getting tired of that sheb."

Ezra was still staring at the boy, who'd been carried towards him by the wolf that he'd climbed on.

"You know that your children are Force Sensitive?" Ahsoka asked.

Dune snorted. "They regular;y float shit through the air if that's what you mean."

The Mandalorian had stepped further into room, seemingly torn about which child to go after.

"How do you know about them?" he growled.

The girl looked up at Ahsoka, still petting the wolf.

"Because they're Jedi, buir," she answered.

The Mandalorian visibly hesitated, before the grip he'd been keeping on his sheathed blaster loosened.

"These are your children?" she asked.

He nodded, crossing his arms.

"What are your names?" Ezra asked, still looking at the boy.

The girl glanced back uncertainly at her father, who immediately relaxed under his daughter's gaze.

"It's alright," he informed her before nodding towards Kix and Boil. "Those are Vode, so they must be from the Lothal Outpost, which means they're safe."

The girl turned back to Ahsoka, eyes flicking to the others in the room before they returned to her.

"My name is Rey Djarin, my brother's is Yedra and my dad's is Din. The woman with us is Cara Dune."

Ahsoka smiled at Rey. "My name is Ahsoka Tano."

The girl's eyes widened. "Ahsoka?"

"You know her?" Boil asked.

Rey only looked at him for the briefest of moments before she gave her attention back to Ahsoka. "I've seen your name a few times. We've been reading about the Clone Wars and the Jedi Order."

Ezra pushed himself off the table. "Well, you probably haven't heard of me. I'm Ezra Bridger."

Yedra's ears perked up. "Bridger? I think Luke mentioned you?"

Ahsoka frowned. "Luke? As in Luke Skywalker? You know him?"

Rey shot Yedra a look before she blushed, rubbing her neck. "It's a long story."

The Mandalorian nodded. "Very long."

"One that we do not have time for," Numa cut in, straightening.

She walked around the room, handing datapads to Cara, Din, Ahsoka and Ezra and leaving Kix and Boil to share one.

"A little over seven years ago, Harun Kal was hit by a round of abductions which claimed almost half their population under fifteen. Recently, they were hit by a more overt attack which took seventy-five percent of their children, and also wiped out most of their government, including their king and queen, who had lost their son in the first attack. The surviving members of the Korun government have reached out to us to investigate. You will go in and see what leads you can get. This is an information gathering mission, but if you find a lead, don't be afraid to pursue it."

She eyed the children with a frown before looking at Ahsoka. "I trust whatever weird Jedi crap you have going on won't affect your mission too much?"

Ahsoka frowned. "It will complicate things, but we should be fine."

Across from her, Rey's shoulders slumped a little and Ahsoka internally winced.

_Kriff, I've got a padawan now. I've got to be a bit more sensitive. Wait,_ **_do_ ** _I have a padawan?_

"I think we need to have a conversation, first," she conceded.

The Mandalorian nodded. "I want to know just what's going on here."

Numa huffed, crossing her arms. "Why can things never go smoothly with you people?"

Boil and Kix both snorted.

"We'll go get the ship ready," Boil said. "You talk out your Jedi stuff, general."

He walked out, Numa and Kix trailing behind them.

Dune shifted, rolling her eyes as she put her arms on her hips. "I'll go make sure your murder-droid hasn't destroyed the astromech of the protocol droid, I'm done with all this weird magic shit."

With that, she turned and strode out, leaving Ezra and Ahsoka alone with the children and the Mandalorian.

"When you said you'd find teachers, I didn't think you meant so soon."

Yedra snorted and Rey smiled. "Neither did we."

"So, we're all on the same page here?" Ezra asked. "We're to be your masters?"

Ahsoka nodded. "That seems to be what the Force wants."

She closed her eyes and reached out with her presence towards the girl in front of her. She'd expected to be overwhelmed with what she found, old memories of her own master's blazing Force signature, but whilst the presence that met her was certainly powerful, it wasn't painful, as if it was being carefully restrained by heavy shielding.

The girl made a light, happy sound in the back of her throat when she felt Ahsoka's presence, pushing forward her own one and letting it mingle lightly with Ahsoka's.

Ahsoka immediately felt the small connection that had sparked between them strengthen slightly and she could feel the girl's cautious happiness mixed with her worry.

She walked forward, slowly stepping up to Rey, the wolf moving out of the ways so she could stand closer.

Ahsoka had never taken a padawan before. At first, after they'd found Ezra and (surprisingly) Kanan on some weird planet in wild space that was covered in a strange type of kyber crystal, she'd been too busy trying to find out as much as she could about the World between Worlds, and then she'd been helping find Force Sensitive children for Luke, devoting herself to teaching too many children to pick one.

There had always seemed to be an excuse: she needed to help get the Vode get settled, she was too busy helping create the Alliance, her role as Fulcrum put her into too many dangerous situations. But, really, the truth was that she'd never believed herself ready to take a padawan. Her lineage had seemed to be tainted, cursed somehow, and she'd been terrified of adding another mark against their long history of screw ups. After what happened six months ago, she was even more scared of that.

The girl's Force signature drew back slightly from hers and Ahsoka cursed herself again. Of course, Rey had felt that.

However, Rey's power was enveloping hers a second later, a wave of steady calm projecting out from her and towards Ahsoka.

Ahsoka jolted in shock, taking a moment to accept the comfort as a warm smile slipped onto her face.

She reached out into the Force, expelling her irrational fear into it. Anything that she needed to work through could be examined later when she had time to herself, and if she could not manage to find peace within her own emotions, she could talk them through with Kanan or Ezra. For now, this little girl needed her and Ahsoka knew deep down that she would be the best person for this.

The Force sung with the rightness of their bond. The only thing holding her back was her own selfish fear. And Ahsoka couldn't let that influence her actions. Not if she was going to be calling herself a Jedi.

Ahsoka opened her eyes, her dark blue almost-purple gaze meeting Rey's stormy grey one. 

She managed to tear her gaze away so she could look at the Mandalorian standing protectively behind Rey.

"You'd let your child get taught by two Force Users who call themselves Jedi?"

The Mandalorian nodded.

"We'd have to spend a lot of time with them, possibly take them into dangerous situations."

The Mandalorian tilted his head to the side. "As long as I can be there to try and protect them, and as long as you will help them learn, I'll let you teach them."

Ahsoka nodded. That seemed more than fair. It made her job both easier and harder. Easier because it meant that she wouldn't have total responsibility for Rey, harder because it would mean that she'd need to monitor Rey's views of relationships even more closely, to make sure she knew how to approach them without fear. Though, the fact that her dad was a Mando might actually help with that. She'd seen how the Mandalorians had now integrated new lessons on processing emotions to help them get ready for possible future loss from the Wrens and the Vode.

Over the last two decades, the Mandalorians had reinvested in education, innovation and mental health. They may not have abandoned their warrior ways, but they'd finally seemed to figure out how to make sure their society wouldn't crumble under a string of back and forth revenge.

"Well that settles it then."

She returned her attention to Rey, smiling down at her.

"Rey Djarin, will you become my Padawan Learner?"

Rey grinned up at her and gave a little bow. "I'd be honoured, Master Ahsoka."

Ahsoka pressed her lips together. "You don't have to call me that if you don't want to."

Rey's grin faded as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well then what should I call you?"

Ahsoka smirked. "I'll let you decide."

They stared at each other for a few moments before they were disturbed by Ezra laughed.

"Far be it from be to deny the will of the Force."

He crouched down so that his head was level with the boy's, bracing his hands on his knees.

"Will you accept my guidance as your Jedi Master, Yedra Djarin?"

Yedra nodded, smiling at the blue haired man. "Yes."

\-----

Din came to a stop a few metres from the two ships that were parked in front of them. The Twi'lek was nowhere to be seen so he assumed she'd left planet a little while ago.

He spun to face Bridger and Tano.

"You can get the ship to Harun Kal, right Rey? I need to have a conversation with the Jedi."

Rey glanced up at him from where she and Yedra had been flanked by the three wolves as they followed leisurely behind the adults, quickly scrolling through one of the datapads.

She pursed her lips and both his children stared at him critically for a few seconds before Rey sighed.

"The datapads have the hyperspace route," she conceded. "I could get us there."

Underneath his helmet, Din smiled down at her, knowing she would be able to sense it.

"Now hang on," Cara said, pushing herself up from where she'd been leaning against the side of the Razor Crest next to the two clones. "I don't know how to fly."

"It's alright," one of the clones said. "I do. I'll make sure we get there in one piece."

Rey glared at them for a few seconds before she deflated, and Din was glad she'd chosen not to pick a fight over her pride. They didn't have time.

"HK-54, you're coming with us," Din ordered as they all moved to get on their respective ships.

"But-" Rey started, but Din shook his head firmly at her.

"No, Rey'ika. He's coming with me. And the wolves."

Rey slumped her shoulders and then turned to glare at Yedra. "Snitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we're really in it now.
> 
> How did you like it? I'm trying my best with characterisation, but it's harder than expected.


	16. Discussions and Force Philosophy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just read it please.
> 
> Ahsoka gets a lot of time this chapter.

Kix was about fifty-three percent sure he knew what had happened in the shack after him, Boil and Numa had left, but you can never really know what's going on with Jedi.

He was also sixty percent certain that he'd have to be treating all three of the other sentient biological passengers for wounds by the end of this trip.

Once they'd gotten into hyperspace, they'd all gathered in the hangar of their ship.

Djarin's shoulders were set in a tense line as he stood in front of Ahsoka and Ezra, both wearing that kriffing mask of calm that seemed to be standard for all Jedi.

"You wanted to speak with us?" Ahsoka asked after a few moments of tense silence.

Kix was never more glad that he'd had to learn how to read body language so well. Otherwise he might not have been able to determine the slight tilting of Djarin's head for the hesitation it was.

"I know you have no reason to trust us," Ezra acknowledged gently. "But I can assure you, we'll do our best to teach and protect your children."

Djarin crossed his arms. "You agreed to it very quickly."

Ezra shrugged. "We're not ones to deny the Will of the Force, and it was talking a lot louder than usual."

When Djarin didn't respond, Ahsoka was quick to explain.

"Sometimes the Force can… guide our actions to the best possible outcomes, or at least favourable outcomes for ourselves. Usually it's subtle and we have to be monitoring our connection to the Force carefully to properly interpret them, but when we met your kids, it was pretty clear that we would be a suitable team."

Djarin inclined his head forward. "I've heard Rey and Yedra talking about 'listening to the Force' before."

Ahsoka frowned at that. "They seemed to already have a bit of knowledge about the Force."

"I did a job about six months ago that got me a large amount of books regarding Force Users as my payment. They've been reading a lot ever since," the Mandalorian's voice had softened towards the end.

"They like reading?" Ezra asked, a little incredulous.

"Rey loves it," Djarin informed them, his voice warming and smoothing from the hostile edge it usually had. "She practices whenever she can. Yedra doesn't like it as much, but he still enjoys it. He's competitive enough to read just as much as Rey though ."

Kix's expression was carefully controlled as he watched the Mandalorian bounty hunter in unpainted dark grey armour melt in front of him. It was like a paradox.

Djarin sighed, bowing his head for a second before he looked back up. His shoulders had tensed ever so slightly again.

"There are some other things need to know about them if you're going to have an active role in their lives."

Djarin cut off, staring at Kix behind his bucket in a way that would have been intimidating if he didn't have to endure the tension of Rex, Cody, General Skywalker and General Kenobi all being furious at the same time in his youth.

"I'm the Medic," Kix stated firmly. "If what you're about to say pertains to their medical history in any way, I should know now. You don't want to have to be telling me later."

Djarin raised his chin slightly, staring him down for a few more seconds before he gave a slight nod.

"Some of it does. The rest you'll probably learn anyway."

He turned his attention to the two Jedi. "The two of them have this weird sought of bond. They can talk to each other silently, they always know where the other is, and they can almost always tell exactly what the other is feeling."

He looked at Ezra. "Yedra prefers not to speak, usually whatever he wants to say, he tells Rey to. Sometimes he'll use hand movements. Although he might actually talk to you. He's seems more open with Force Users."

"There's not much else to know other than he likes music and he's recently taken an interest in cooking. He hasn't given me anything to try yet, but a word of warning: I have seen him eat live frogs and other small creatures on multiple occasions."

Kix made a note on his datapad to check the green child for choking hazards.

Djarin then turned his head to Ahsoka.

"Rey is…more complicated," he said slowly. "She's not had an easy life. Not that Yedra has either. However, he can't really remember his life prior to meeting me since he only gained the cognitive reasoning beyond the equivalent of a toddler just over six months ago - we think his rapid growth is a byproduct of the weird bond thing. But when I found Rey, only about seven months ago, on Jakku, specifically at Niima Outpost."

It took all three of them a few moments to react but when their brains caught up to them, they all stiffened.

_Kriffing hell._

"She's adjusting really well. She's getting better at vocalising when she's struggling."

He leaned forward slightly as he stared at Ahsoka. "Listen to her when she tells you something. She doesn’t say it lightly."

He glanced at Ezra and Kix as well. "You too."

They both nodded quickly.

Ahsoka's eyes had widened but she met his gaze calmly and Djarin continued on a moment later.

"Like I said, she's adjusting well, but you still need to be mindful. Don't touch her food and ask before you handle any of her weapons. If she says she's making tea or meditating or going to work on something mechanical, just let her do it. It's her own way of dealing with things when they get too much."

Ahsoka nodded seriously. "Of course. I'll do my best to help her with that."

Djarin leant back again. "Good. We met another Jedi a little while ago. He helped centre both of them a lot. He says Rey needs to do a lot of meditation since she has this ability called shatterpoints, if that means anything to you."

Kix glanced at the Jedi. He thinks he may have heard the word once or twice a very long time ago, but he can't remember for the life of him what they could mean.

Ezra didn't react to the words but Ahsoka frowned, crossing one arm over her chest whilst putting the other on her chin in a gesture that was all General Kenobi.

"Which Jedi did you meet?" Ezra asked politely, though Kix could see the anxious urgency in his eyes.

Djarin visibly hesitated, giving a greater show of uncertainty than Kix had seen from him before.

"Skywalker," he finally muttered. "Luke Skywalker."

That got all of their attention.

"Luke! Is he alright?" Ezra practically yelped.

"Where?" Ahsoka asked just as desperately, if a lot less manic.

Djarin crossed his arms. "He's not alright but I - or my children - think he's working towards healing. And he's on this planet called Ahch-To. I couldn't tell you the coordinates. We were forced to do a blind jump during battle and out nav systems were pretty badly damaged. The… native species used some of their technology to fix it, but the coordinates deleted themselves from the navcom's history as soon as we jumped. I know it's somewhere in Wild Space."

Ahsoka pressed her eyes shut whilst Ezra ran a hand through his hair.

"He needs time," Ahsoka acknowledged after taking a deep breath. "And he knows what he's doing. He was too recognisable to not go into hiding. Protocols say we all needed to go underground if we were in an exposed position."

"My children seem to think we'll be going back there to get him at some point in the future if that's any consolation?"

Ahsoka smirked and Ezra huffed out a small laugh.

"Honestly?" he said. "It kind of is."

Kix shifted slightly as he made notes on his datapad and Ahsoka glanced at him.

"What is it, Kix?"

Kix levelled a stare on Djarin. "You seem to be taking this very well."

Djarin shrugged. "I want what is best for my children. And they need teachers."

Kix narrowed his eyes and Djarin tilted his head to the side.

"Make no mistake, I will be watching you," he said, the edge back in his voice. "I just also know that my children need help that I cannot give them. And right now, you are the best ones to give it to them."

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Kix shrugged and backed down.

Ahsoka stepped forward, smiling a little. "So, what else does Rey enjoy?"

\----

"So, let's see what you guys can do," Ezra stated brightly.

They had set up camp in a small abandoned stone building just under an hour's walk from the city where the Alliance's contact was.

Rey and Yedra had been sitting beside Boil for the last half hour or so as he set up the burners and a fire for when they made dinner a little bit later.

Ezra emerged from the building, Ahsoka beside him as they both came to a stop a few metres away from each other, Ezra crossing his arms relaxedly whilst Ahsoka put her hands on her hips.

The children jerked up from where they'd hunched over their laps, scrolling through the information Numa had given them.

"I'm sorry?" Rey asked and Ezra resisted the urge to laugh.

The girl had two datapads balanced in her lap, reading through one and taking notes with a stylus on the other. She reminded him of his kids or Sabine when they really got invested in a project.

Yedra, Ezra's padawan (his kriffing padawan!) flicked his ears upwards, a wave of amusement rippling out into the Force.

Rey glanced at her brother, scowling slightly.

"I apologise," she said as she turned back again, straightening her posture as she did. "What would you like us to do?"

"We just wanted to do a few exercises to see where you're at," Ahsoka informed her warmly.

"Uh… sure," Rey said, after flickering her gaze over to her dad, who gave a nod before turning back to his conversation with Dune, although Ezra could tell that he was still monitoring them closely.

They both set their pads down beside them on the log they were sitting on.

"What would you like us to do?" she asked.

Ezra shared a smirk with Ahsoka.

"Why don't we start with some saber work?" Ezra asked. "Your buir said you'd been training."

The children glanced at each other, before they simultaneously unsheathed their lightsabers.

Ahsoka took a sharp intake of breath.

"Is that-"

"Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, yes," Rey confirmed with a nod. "Yedra has Yoda's shoto."

Ahsoka stared at her for a second before she shook herself out of her surprise.

"Right," she said. "Do you know any katas?"

Yedra nodded and Rey pursed her lips.

"Some," the girl informed them. "I don't know how well we're doing them."

Ahsoka stepped forward towards her student, smiling gently. "That's why we're watching you now. We want to see your skill level so we know what to teach you. We don't expect anything."

Ezra looked towards his own padawan, whose ears had rotated slightly backwards at his sister's comment. He was pretty sure Yedra rolled his eyes, but it was hard to tell since his iris and pupils took up so much of his eyes.

Ezra smirked. He hadn't even had a conversation with him, but Ezra was sure he was going to get along with his padawan just fine.

Ahsoka stepped back after receiving a nod and a smile from Rey.

"Okay, begin," Ezra announced.

Both children held their lightsabers out in front of them in the traditional Shii Cho ready stance, moving through a basic kata that they performed almost perfectly. Yedra's arms were perhaps too high whilst Rey had a tendency to drop her shoulders, but they were slight things that could be easily fixed.

Once they finished the kata, they held the stance for a few seconds before falling back into ready position, glancing up at Ezra and Ahsoka eagerly.

"Impressive," Ahsoka observed. "However, you need to watch your shoulders. They tend to tense."

"You did well also, Yedra," Ezra said, internally grimacing at his awkward wording in his rush to assure his padawan. "You do need to lower your arms through the middle."

Yedra flicked one ear forward but didn't say anything.

"Yes?" Ezra asked.

Yedra glanced up at his sister who shot him a glare before he turned back to Ezra.

"I'm much shorter than everyone I'm going to fight against. My guard has to be higher."

Ezra frowned. That was a good point.

He nodded in acknowledgement at the boy but said, "I would like to see a few more of your katas if you know any before we get you to spar."

Instead of looking to her brother, Rey swivelled her gaze to Ahsoka, who nodded.

"I agree," Ahsoka nodded. "I would like to get a gage of which fighting styles you prefer.

"Sure," Rey acknowledged with a shrug.

Without any outward communication, the children assumed the Ataru opening stance, each of them running through a simple kata that employed only a few Force jumps (though, Ezra noted that Yedra did employ a few variants in the kata so that he could take some extra leaps). They then moved onto a kata that was very distinctly Soresu. After that, they both started performing different katas, Rey favouring Soresu whilst Yedra used Ataru.

When Ahsoka finally called a stop to their exercises, Ezra was struck silent. They wouldn't have been able to learn all that just from books, especially not in six months.

"That was impressive," he commented as they powered down their weapons. "Really impressive."

"How did you learn all that?" Ahsoka asked and Rey ducked her head.

Yedra stepped up to his sister, tapping her leg, the reinforced fingertips of the glove on his tiny three-fingered hand clanging against her shin-guard.

Rey took a deep breath and looked up, her eyes trained on Ahsoka's neck as she spoke, "We have… dreams."

"Dreams?" Ahsoka prompted as she crossed her arms. "What kind of dreams?"

Rey cringed back and Ezra felt something in his chest tighten, a knot of foreboding twisting in his stomach. He understood the suspicion - dreams could be dangerous for Force Users.

"Dead Jedi masters sometimes meet with us in our dreamscapes," Rey admitted, her words rushed.

_Wait what?_

He knew from a few vague discussions that Luke could sometimes see Force ghosts, but they hadn’t really talked about it. Ezra honestly liked Luke, but he hadn't had nearly as much time to talk to the other Jedi as he'd have liked over the years.

The few fully trained Jedi that were still alive after the fall of the Empire were stretched thin as they tried to cobble together some semblance of an Order, as well as help with peacekeeping in the galaxy. Ezra hadn't even been to the Capitol Temple of the New Jedi Order. As one of the leaders of the Lothal Temple, he'd had a duty to stay under the radar for their small band of Force Sensitives operating in their corner of the galaxy. Luke was the only one who had all the intel about the various different Jedi Outposts.

They're main priorities had been to keep they're few people safe as they rebuilt, and that meant that they'd all needed to stay as undercover as possible whilst the Republic had eliminated the remnants of the Empire, a sentiment that had gotten less and less popular over the years until…

Well that was something Ezra didn't like thinking about.

"They said that the Force had anchored them to us," Rey explained. "So sometimes they talk to us… teach us things."

"Who do you see?"

"Yoda visits Yedra… unsurprisingly," Rey said, peering up at her Master. "I usually see Obi-Wan Kenobi but sometimes Master Windu or Anakin Skywalker visit me as well."

Neither of them answered for a few minutes struck silent.

Ezra should really stop being surprised by weird Force bullshit.

What in the hell had he gotten himself into?

\----

Ahsoka woke as her montrals registered the slight increase in temperature that signalled the sun was about to rise.

She sat up and looked around the still dark room, spotting Yedra, Ezra, Dune and Kix all still sleeping in the field cots they'd set up I the second of the two room building, since they'd needed to land their ships a long walk away from the city for stealth reasons.

She also immediately noticed that the cot that should have been occupied by her own padawan was empty.

Allowing herself only a second longer to revel in the warmth of her blanket, Ahsoka rolled out of her cot and walked into the main room, where Kix had set up an emergency med spot and they had their equipment laid out.

She wondered outside slowly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and made her way over to the fire where Djarin and Boil were finishing off their watch.

They both looked up at her as she walked up to them, Boil was grinning slyly and, though she could not see Djarin's face, she was sure he had a similar expression.

"You alright there general?"

Ahsoka didn't bother answering him.

"You weren't kidding when you said she got up early," Ahsoka told Djarin as she stretched her back.

Djarin gave an amused huff. Boil snorted and inclined his head over to the tree line where Rey was sitting in front of a small fire of her own.

"She's over there if you want to join her."

"She's doing her morning meditation," Djarin informed her.

Ahsoka raised her eyebrows. It had taken her a lot of cajoling from Master Obi-Wan to set up a meditation routine.

"I'll go over then."

Ahsoka made sure her steps were soft as she walked up to the girl. She seemed to be doing an unusual sought of moving meditation, her eyes closed as she got everything ready for her tea.

The girl's hair was down instead of put up in the three buns she'd seen them in yesterday and she wasn't wearing any of her armour but her boots, revealing to Ahsoka just how small she was as her robe swallowed her up. Rey opened her eyes as Ahsoka approached, giving her a small smile.

Ahsoka nodded at her in greeting, and gestured to the ground beside Rey.

"May I?"

Rey nodded, her smile widening a little bit before she closed her eyes again.

Ahsoka sat down next to Rey so that they were both facing the fire.

"Would you like tea?" Rey asked.

"Yes please."

Ahsoka reached out into the Force as Rey set up a cup for her.

She took a moment to enjoy the flow of energy through her before she turned her attentions inward, doing a routine check of her shields before she dived into her mind, quickly sifting through her own thoughts and feelings until she found a faint but bright cord that was still unfamiliar to her mind.

She carefully prodded the bond, happy to find it stronger than it was the day before. They would need to put time and effort into developing it, but it was already more firm than she remembered her and her master's had been the day after meeting. In fact, she often heard that it had taken hours of meditating over multiple days for a bond this strong to form between Master/Padawan pairs.

Ahsoka followed the thin thread holding them together to Rey. The girl appeared calm to the eye, but the Force around her roiled with unease.

"You feel troubled, young one," Ahsoka told her, not opening her eyes.

Rey's shoulders sagged as she blew out a sharp breath.

"I'm sorry."

Ahsoka opened one of her eyes. "It's alright, Rey. Do you want to tell me what is troubling you?"

Rey's fists clenched on her thighs. "I don't _know._ "

Ahsoka's eyes snapped all the way open at the sudden outburst but she didn't say anything.

Rey took a deep breath, posture sagging even more. "I don't know."

"Know what?"

"Anything!" Rey replied though not as aggressively as her first yell. "I'm just so confused. I don't know what to think. I don't even know if I _want_ to be a Jedi."

Ahsoka took a moment to absorb Rey's admission before she turned to her padawan, shifting so that she was fully facing her.

Rey's body twisted to face her.

Ahsoka looked deeply into Rey's eyes.

"Listen carefully," she said. "I am not teaching you dependent on the expectation that you will become a Jedi. I am teaching you so that you will learn control and will be able to keep yourself safe."

Rey let out a breath and Ahsoka took a moment to appreciate the beautiful Force signature before her. Where Anakin had been like a giant sun, bright and pulsing and ready to explode any second, the closest thing Ahsoka could compare Rey to was a supernova, what remained after the initial explosion, the bright pulsing storm of colours that birthed such precious materials.

Ahsoka patted her thighs and Rey took the wordless prompt, shifting her legs around so that their knees were lightly brushing.

"That being said," Ahsoka began, smiling a little. "I'm curious why you don't want to be a Jedi?"

Rey frowned. "Well, I don't really know what a Jedi _is_. Obi-Wan's shown me some of his memories, but they don't really give me concrete answers. Everything I read seems to conflict with each other. And, of course, Obi-Wan won't just _tell_ me."

Ahsoka couldn't stop her smile from widening.

"I'm sure he didn't. Obi-Wan always maintained that it was up to a master to guide their student as they learnt their lessons, not tell them what to think."

Rey huffed and Ahsoka let out a laugh.

She composed herself a moment later and tilted her head forward as she looked down at the girl.

"I think the reason you're finding it so hard is because the Jedi meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Their persona and the Jedi Code changed so much over time that the definition of a Jedi has never just been one thing."

Rey pursed her lips, staring at her lap for a few seconds before she looked back up at Ahsoka.

"Well, what does being a Jedi meant to you?"

Ahsoka took her time to answer. It was a question she'd thought a lot about over the last two decades.

"That's a complicated question. I'm sure Obi-Wan must have told you about me?"

Rey shrugged. "Some. He mostly talks about his apprenticeship or his time with the 212th. I know you left the Order though."

Ahsoka nodded. "That's right. Although, I did officially join the New Jedi Order."

Rey pressed her lips together. "So you think New Jedi Order is better than the old one?"

Ahsoka froze. "Why do you ask that?"

Rey hesitated. "I've been reading… news stories about the Jedi from fifty years ago, and essays written about them. What I saw… wasn't good. But Obi-Wan's diaries conflict so much with them. I don't know what to think. They can't both be true."

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "The Jedi were never very good at showing others what they actually were like."

She clenched her eyes shut. "Force, even I didn't really know. My padawanship was spent in a war zone away from most other Jedi, and my master, Anakin, was far from conventional. But I know that most people were wrong about the Jedi."

She reached her hands out and after a second, Rey took them.

"The Jedi were, for the most part, good, Rey. Towards the end, they were forced to do a lot of things they didn't want to. The Clone Wars practically destroyed them, but they tried their hardest to keep the galaxy together. They were given an impossible task though. The Republic had been falling apart for longer than the Clone Wars and they didn't have enough political power to do anything about it. They tried to save as many people as possibly but-"

Rey's grip on her hands tightened. "But the Chancellor, and the clones. And then they were all killed. And there was nothing any of them could do about it."

The girl's voice shook as she spoke and Ahsoka had to swallow back her own wave of emotion. No, there wasn't. It was a hard lesson for Ahsoka to learn. She'd spent years obsessing over what else could have been done, but, without the benefit of hindsight, the Jedi simply couldn't have seen what was coming for them, or the Republic. No one would have suspected the Chancellor of being anything more than overly ambitious and slightly corrupt. It was a perfect trap.

"The Jedi were - or at least they tried their best to be - peacekeepers and protectors. Yes, I left the Order, but I truly intended to go back. It was just, at the time, I was not personally prepared for the responsibility. To be a Jedi, you have to be selfless above all else, you have to do your best to help people who need it and you have to do what is right in order to protect people."

Rey let out a shuddering breath. "I don't know if I can do it."

Ahsoka squeezed her hands. "It's a hard life, Rey. It's not for everyone."

Rey spoke quickly as she rushed her words out. "They said we couldn't have attachments. But I love my dad and Yedra. And what little I've read about the Jedi told me that they wanted balance. But they didn't touch the dark. How can there be balance if you use one side of the Force? But the dark side feels bad, awful. I can't imagine using it at all could be being balance. And I can't even feel the light a lot of the time, I'm not sure if I've ever felt it."

She choked back a sob. "I don’t… I don’t think I'm good enough."

Ahsoka sighed and tightened her grip on her hands.

"Shhhh, it's alright, it's alright," she soothed, catching Rey's eyes so they were once again looking at each other.

"It's good that you're questioning," she assured Rey. "And those are some serious questions, but let me unpack them."

"As for attachments, they are difficult. The Jedi discouraged them because they could easily lead to selfishness, to an unwillingness to let go when you need to in order to do your duty. However, I do believe it is possible to love and form close relationships without forming attachments. Ezra and Kanan have successfully done it, as well as another dozen Jedi from the New Order. You will need to judge if you are capable of doing that, of putting your duty above your love, and as your master, it is my job to teach you how to do that."

She leaned forward. "Not everyone is capable of loving without attachment, and if that is the case for you, you will need to make a decision between being a Jedi or forming attachments. Do you understand me?"

Rey nodded, and Ahsoka straightened.

"As for balance… that is even more complicated but you should listen to your instincts."

She slowly reached a hand out to the girl's cheek, allowing Rey to pull back if she wanted.

"The dark side… it's not something to be trifled with. It's corrupting. Using it requires you to focus on your hate and your anger and it makes you take and take from everything around you. The power is tempting. It really is. But I promise you Rey. You won't like what it turns you into."

Rey's eyes widened and Ahsoka's heart twisted in desperation. This girl was easily as bright - as powerful - as Anakin had felt in the Force. She couldn’t handle another Vader.

"Please, Rey. Promise me."

"I… I promise. I don't want to touch the Dark Side. I don't want power. I just want to help people and be with my family and I want balance."

Ahsoka dropped her head forward. "Balance… does anyone really know what balance is? I take it you've been reading about Grey Jedi?"

Rey nodded, eyes dropping guiltily.

Ahsoka smiled. "The truth is that the Jedi often slid across that scale of Grey, because to many, including Yoda, there wasn't a scale. There is the Dark Side and there is the Force. That's all that matters. The Dark Side is what unbalances everything. Not everyone viewed it like that, even some amongst the Council were obsessed with the Light Side, but I don't believe it's that simple, or maybe it's simpler than they were making it out to be. Even the Jedi weren't immune to bureaucracy and there are many different views on the Force."

Rey looked up at her. "But what about the Code. There is no emotion there is peace?"

"That was an aspiration, a way of calming oneself when we were slipping. There was a simpler one that was taught in the creche before we were old enough to understand that most of the Code should be taken metaphorically not literally and that it should be kept in mind when accessing the Force. In that Code, the line is 'emotion yet peace' which means that it is okay to experience emotions, but you should not let them rule your actions. I'm sure that whatever meditation mantra you've been going through would actually agree with the metaphorical meaning of the Code."

Rey shrugged. "I guess."

Ahsoka smiled. "Come on, tell me which one you're using. I've heard a few alternative codes over the years. The differences between those codes and the one used by the Jedi are that those mantra tackle a broader state of living whilst the Jedi mantra solely focuses on how to access the Force."

Rey nodded. "Alright. The first line is 'There is no light without the dark'."

Ahsoka tilted her head. "Well, that's true isn't it? Without the dark side, there is only the Force."

Rey furrowed her eyebrows, but continued on. "The next is 'Through passion, I gain focus'."

"Your feelings do you credit, but only if you examine them and consider why you are feeling them. Most of the time, you have a reason for feeling an emotion, if you can be mindful of those reasons, they can help you. However, you cannot let your emotions rule you when you access the Force. It's a dangerous that leads directly towards the Dark, hence 'there is no passion, there is serenity'."

Rey's eyes widened slightly at Ahsoka's words. "Through knowledge I gain power."

"That one's easy. My position as a Fulcrum agent has had me uniquely acquainted with just how important information is. The Jedi Code even acknowledges how important it is - 'There is no ignorance, there is knowledge'."

"What about 'through serenity, I gain strength."

Ahsoka snorted. "That's pretty much the Jedi Code's whole point."

Rey grinned a bit. "Through victory, I gain harmony."

"If you're fighting to help the innocent and bring peace, I'm sure victory against those who would seek to stop that would bring harmony."

"There is only the Force."

"True."

It was Rey's turn to snort.

"Convinced?" Ahsoka asked.

Rey shrugged, her expression smoothing. "Perhaps."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes but she was still smiling.

Their grip on each other's hands loosened and they naturally fell into a light meditation as Ahsoka brushed her presence up against Rey's.

"That's not the only thing that bothered you?" she questioned.

"I don't know if I'm good enough."

"You were very impressive yesterday, and that's with only a few months of practice."

Rey's mouth screwed into a wonky line.

"Not as good as Yedra," she admitted tightly, and Ahsoka felt a wave of shame and embarrassment pulse from her padawan after her admission.

Ahsoka opened her eyes. "I know it will be hard to see with your brother being the only one to compare yourself to. But you are amazing, Rey. And I can already tell that you work hard, a trait which can make up for disparity between natural skill."

Rey nodded, but she was still frowning.

"Why don't I teach you a few other meditation positions? Sometimes a more challenging pose can help increase focus."

Rey straightened, her troubles seemingly forgotten. "Yes please!"

Ahsoka smiled at her enthusiasm. "It will be easier if you tie your hair back… would you like me to braid it for you?"

Rey frowned and hesitated before she answered, less enthusiastic. "Yes please."

Ahsoka smiled and moved so that she was kneeling beside Rey, who poured their tea out for them whilst she did that.

Ahsoka carded her fingers through Rey's hair, glad that the girl had obviously brushed it before she had started meditating. She had taught herself how to braid hair after the first time she'd met Leia and she knew quite a few different styles. After she was certain that Rey's hair was free of tangles, she started her work, careful not to pull anything too tightly as she began weaving a braid crown that would sit just behind her headdress.

Ahsoka was a little way in before she realised how tense Rey was. She had been so absorbed in her work, glad to be doing this for the first time in years, that she hadn't noticed the girl's shoulders steadily stiffening until they were almost at her ears.

Ahsoka held back a sigh, completely at a loss for what could have elicited this reaction. She was sure she wasn't pulling the braid too tight.

Well, she may as well broach the subject whilst Rey was already upset.

"Your dad told me that he found you at the Niima Outpost on Jakku."

Rey flinched in a way that must have caused her hair to pull painfully but she didn’t say anything.

"Yeah he did. How much did he tell you?"

"Nothing else."

Ahsoka was silent and didn't push further as Rey's shoulders slumped.

"I was a scavenger… paying off my debt."

So she was an indentured servant, which, really, was just a pretty name for a slave.

It took all of Ahsoka's control not to tighten her grip as she slowly weaved the braid.

"I was only a few more years off paying it fully, certainly no more than five," Rey urged, her voice tight.

Ahsoka very quietly released a breath. "Do you know how you ended up there?"

Rey didn't answer for a second.

"You don’t have to tell me if you don't want to."

Rey swallowed. "No… it's fine."

She took a deep breath. "I don't remember much… it was a long time ago. I think I was around five? Unkar always told me that they - my parents - sold me for drinking money. But… my mother told me she'd be back as soon as she could. She said she'd come back for me."

Ahsoka felt the back of her throat stick as her padawan's voice shook. There was nothing she could say to comfort Rey as her chest heaved with silent sobs. All Ahsoka could do was reach out and provide comfort into the Force, the way she remembered Master Plo and Master Obi-Wan doing when she was upset.

The girl's breathing returned to normal sooner than Ahsoka expected it would and she let out a small sniffle.

"Can we talk about something else?" Rey asked, her voice quiet and raw.

Ahsoka felt something inside her melt.

Rey's story reminded her so much of Anakin's. Though, she doubted her master had been like this as a padawan.

Rey had none of his explosive rage. Yes, she'd seen Rey's anger, when they'd insulted her flying and when Yedra had teased her after she lost to him the day before, and, though it was present, Rey also carefully tucked it away. Anakin would have yelled, would have gone in for another hit, but Rey released her indignant words at the adults and had slung sly insults back at her brother instead of attacking him again.

No, Rey was what she imagined Master Obi-Wan to be like if he'd grown up like Anakin.

Ahsoka quickly dismissed those thoughts, thankful that she'd kept them tightly tucked away behind her shields.

She could not afford to project her ghosts onto Rey. It wasn't fair to her, and it would only impede Ahsoka's job at teaching her.

Besides, she didn't want to think about Master Obi-Wan. There was too much regret there.

"Of course," Ahsoka assured Rey, taking a moment to think before she moved the conversation forward.

"I see you prefer Soresu."

Rey shrugs. "It's what Obi-Wan is best at."

"You're developing well."

Rey goes to duck her head but the sharp pull of Ahsoka's grip on her head keeps her in place.

"You're amazing in a duel," the girl compliments, her voice tinged with awe.

Despite herself, Ahsoka felt her cheeks heat up. She hadn't missed Rey's thrilled excitement whilst she watched Ahsoka and Ezra duel the day before. Ezra had grown to become a very proficient duellist, and was truly a terror to go up against. He just wasn't better than Ahsoka.

"Jar'kai is a difficult style to learn but it is extremely devastating once mastered," she said in lieu of responding to the compliment. "It’s like Niiman in that you can incorporate elements of all the other forms into it, just variants for the two blades. But I generally find it more effective as it means you can enhance the strengths of the forms, instead of taking the edge off them like Form Six does."

Rey fell silent after the short lecture and Ahsoka could practically hear the gears turning in her head.

"Can you teach me Jar'kai?"

Ahsoka smiled. "Perhaps."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone can think of a better chapter title, please comment it.
> 
> As you can see, I am very pro-Jedi.
> 
> Mando is just trying to do the best for his children. 
> 
> There will probably be one or two more chapters about Jedi stuff, but I'll try to fit him in as much as possible, but he is probably going to be hovering from afar to let his kids get used to their new masters.


	17. They Finally Get Some Formal Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightsaber Training and Meditation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I have nothing to say for myself.

Ezra didn't get a chance to talk to his padawan until after lunch that day.

They'd both rolled out of bed too late to do anything more than a brief meditation before breakfast, so when they got back from talking to the government official and had lunch, he'd taken Yedra off to the side to have a conversation whilst Ahsoka began putting her own padawan through the paces as they waited for Dune and Djarin to come back from their own version of information gathering.

"I can sense that you are frustrated, padawan," Ezra observed as they both sat cross-legged in the grass facing each other.

Yedra scowled, and looked like he was about to say something before he held it back.

Ezra frowned. "Would you be more comfortable if we conversed mentally?"

Yedra frowned but nodded.

"Here, let me try something."

Ezra scooted forward so that Yedra could reach over and touch him, holding his hands out, palms facing upwards.

The boy reached out and placed his hands in Ezra's, hovering slightly off the ground to keep the position comfortable.

They both closed their eyes and Ezra reached inwards, quickly finding the side of the bond that was routed in his head. He knew that Kanan and Ahsoka both preferred to let them grow more organically, but Ezra had always liked help it along.

He poured some of his strength down the thin rope connecting him to Yedra, pleased when he felt his efforts met on the other side by his padawan.

After a few minutes, he felt the bond solidify and the gentle probe he sent towards Yedra was more easily accepted than it would have been without it.

Yedra accepted Ezra's presence behind his shields and Ezra was careful to only dwell on the very surface as he concentrated on focusing and clearing his thoughts.

You're good at this,' he sent over to Yedra, who jolted at the sensation.

Ezra could feel his padawan's mind ripple as he tried to copy what Ezra had done.

'I've had practice,' Yedra replied his voice echoing around Ezra's head.

Ezra smirked. "Yeah. I heard."

'What was troubling you, young one?'

Yedra's ears twitched backwards.

'That was a waste of time.'

'How so?'

'We learnt nothing.'

Ezra's smirk widened. "Untrue. We learnt a great many things."

Yedra's ears lowered as he sent a wave of annoyance across the bond. Ezra restrained a laugh.

'Everything that di'kut said to us was stuff we already learn from the briefing.'

"We learnt a lot about the kind and queen."

'We already knew that they're dead. What much else was there to know?'

"There's plenty. Especially things that wouldn't be included in a report. Like, how do the people view the king and queen?"

'They liked them? The official was devastated at their deaths, and he wasn't lying about the people mourning. And they really want the prince back.'

Ezra raised his eyebrow. "Why is that, padawan? They are already looking at electing a new ruler, the people don't seem intent on returning to a tribal structure."

'The official said it was because the prince would always be the prince, regardless if his parents were dead. But why is that importa - oh, it's a politics thing, isn't it?'

Ezra nodded, grinning.

'That's right. Very good,' he said over the bond.

"Well explore the 'politics thing' later. Hera and Ahsoka both have better heads for it than I do."

Yedra's ears perked up slightly at the praise but a storm cloud of frustration still darkened the Force around him.

"Oh, and padawan, a word of advice: watch your swear words around me, my riduur is a Mandalorian."

Yedra frowned. 'How does that work?"

"Like any other relationship, with open communication and mutual support," Ezra explained, blinking innocently.

Yedra's ears twitched. 'That's not what I meant.'

"You're talking about attachment?"

Yedra blinked at him.

Ezra snorted.

"I'm sure Ahsoka has already talked about it with your sister. Don't you share everything?"

Yedra shrugged. "Not everything. There are some things we don't share. I keep my time with Yoda private and Rey doesn't tell me about her conversations with Obi-Wan."

Ezra hummed at the news. "It's good you two have some things to yourselves."

'Does that also tie back to attachment?'

"Sought of," Ezra said, inwardly smirking at his padawan's frankness.

He paused for a few seconds, making sure he chose his wording carefully.

"The Jedi Order discouraged romantic relationships because they could lead to attachment, which, in the context of the Code, means a relationship which could jeopardise your objectivity and cause you to undermine your vows to the Jedi Order which required you to always work to the benefit of Republic citizens as well as innocents. There are many ways a romantic relationship could do this, as I'm sure you're aware.

It was also why marriage was forbidden for Jedi except in specific situations. I agree with that sentiment. It's only because Mandalorian society, particularly the newest iteration of it, makes sure that a duty to your people and to protecting innocent children is emphasised above your romantic relationships that Sabine and I even agreed to become married under her culture. It's for a similar reason that the Jedi were usually taken so young. Many cultures encourage prioritising ones loved ones to an extent which would make it impossible or, at least, very difficult to achieve the objectivity required of Jedi."

Yedra's ears lowered gradually throughout his explanation and Ezra wanted to reassure him, but this needed to come first.

"Attachments can also lead to the Dark Side. It is easy to give into anger, fear and hopelessness when your loved ones are being threatened or have been hurt. You must know this if you've talked to the ghost of Anakin Skywalker."

Yedra's looked down.

"But," Ezra said, looking seriously at Yedra, "it is possible to be able to form close relationships without them leading to attachment. It takes a lot of effort and continual work to control your emotions like that, but it is not impossible. A few of the old Jedi even managed this successfully. You just always have to be mindful of your feelings, and be willing to let go of those people and relationships if you need to."

When Yedra didn't look up, Ezra tightened his grip on the boy's small hands.

"It's a difficult skill to master, and you don't need to make your decision at this very moment, but it is something you need to know, especially with how close your bond is to your sister."

Yedra's ears dropped by the still wouldn't meet Ezra's eyes.

"What's wrong, Padawan?"

Yedra curled into a ball for a second before he straightened up.

"I'm scared," he admitted in a whisper and Ezra startled at him speaking out loud.

"Of what?" Ezra's voice was only a little louder than the boy's.

"Yoda lived to nine hundred years," Yedra said, staring at the ground. "That means that I'm going to… that I'll have to watch everyone around me die. It's what happened to him."

Ezra was struck silent. He hadn't thought about that.

Yedra opened his mouth to go on, but closed it.

'He's…tried to show me that… what you just told me. That it's okay to love but I need to be ready to move on. But I haven't listened. All I've done is yell at him. I called him unfeeling. I told him it was his fault that the Order had become so removed from everyone. But he was just trying his best.'

Ezra's shoulders slumped forward.

He was seriously underprepared for this. Neither of his previous two padawans had to deal with anything like this.

"He understands," Ezra murmured. "He won't blame you."

'I know,' Yedra sent miserable across the bond. 'That just makes it worse.'

Ezra took a moment to answer.

At least Yedra was talking to him. He supposed he had that going for him.

"Yedra," he said seriously. "There's a lot we need to work through, but we can do it. Together. You have your sister, you have your father. We'll all help. Thank you for talking to me."

\----

Rey stood a few metres away from Ahsoka.

"Jar'Kai is not an easy form to learn," her Master was saying.

Rey nodded dutifully.

"During my time in the Jedi Order, it wasn't even a true lightsaber form, just the name of the variant for dual wielding, usually for Niiman and Ataru. Every form could be used with the Jar'Kai variations, though there was varying degrees of success. However, I've developed katas and moves specifically made for dual-wielding. It is optimised for implementing other lightsaber forms into it, but I've based it mostly on a blend of Soresu and Ataru."

Rey's interest was immediately piqued.

"However," Ahsoka cut her off before she could say anything. "There are many challenges to Jar'Kai. First of all, you need to be able to keep track of both blades, as well as keep them moving, at all times. You also won't be able to put as much strength into your strikes or defence that you would if you were holding one lightsaber with both hands, and since both of your hands will be occupied at all times, it makes it harder to use the telekinetic aspects of your Force powers."

Rey frowned slightly. She was already smaller than most others she'd be fighting. She didn't know if she could afford to give her opponents even more of a strength advantage.

Ahsoka looked into Rey's eyes. "Both of these faults can be neutralised through time and effort. If you train hard, and learn how to manipulate the Force with enough accuracy and ease, you will be able to completely control your blades, as well as imbue your body with enough strength to match any opponent. You easily have enough raw strength, you just need the discipline and control to shape it. And, with enough practice, your Force abilities will not be hampered by having both your hands occupied."

With that, Ahsoka ignited both her lightsabers and Rey held back a gasp at their brilliantly white colour. She'd never heard of a white lightsaber before. The kyber within them rang in a way that was different from the energy surrounding Rey and Yedra's sabers. She wanted to ask about them, but before she could, Ahsoka had nodded, and both Boil and Kix started firing at her from where they were positioned on opposite sides of the small clearing they were practicing in.

Ahsoka deflected their stun bolts with ease, not even having to move her feet, redirecting them so they hit trees just a little to the side of each trooper.

Before they got a chance to go in for a melee attack, they were both knocked off their feet by Force pushes that Rey felt Ahsoka send out from her, even though her hands were occupied with her sabers.

"Woah!" she yelled. "Your fingers barely even twitched!"

Ahsoka smirked at Rey before her face resumed the serious expression it had held whilst she was instructing her.

"I have trained in this for over fifty years to get this good. Do you have the dedication?"

Rey paused mid nod.

"Wait, fifty? You don't look fifty."

Ahsoka smiled. "Constant use of the Force was known to prolong youth."

"What?"

Ahsoka seemed to debate with herself for a moment before she shook her head.

"We'll come to that later, Padawan. For now, let's focus on the basics."

She held out one of her lightsabers.

Rey looked down at it before she glanced back up at Ahsoka.

"Really?"

Ahsoka grinned. "Really. Two lightsabers is kind of the whole thing with Jar'Kai. You can train with my one until we find you a second saber to use, or make you a new one."

Rey beamed at Ahsoka before she reached out and took the saber in her left hand, unsheathing the Skywalker saber and holding it in her right. She frowned, feeling both sabers in her palms, before she switched them.

"Good, Rey," Ahsoka praised. "Listen to your instincts."

"Are we going to do katas now?" Rey asked, bending her knees slightly and putting her feet into the ready position stance.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Not yet, little one."

Rey's expression dimmed slightly, as her eyebrows furrowed.

"First, you need to know how to jump," Ahsoka announced, igniting her saber.

"Wha-?" Rey cut herself off with a yelp as Ahsoka lunged forward, swiping out at her legs.

She jumped back, immediately scrambling over a rock to give herself some distance.

"What the in the Kara's name are you doing?" she asked, her voice high and strained.

"Don't worry, they're on training mode," Ahsoka said as she vaulted the large stone in a single leap, landing behind Rey.

Rey spun, bringing up the sabers and activating them.

"Ah, ah, ah, Padawan," Ahsoka said, stalking forward. "No saber work, just dodging. You need to learn how to move around with both your hands occupied."

Rey hesitated for a half a second before she deactivated the sabers, and then immediately had to spin to the side as Ahsoka slashed through the space she was just in.

The Togruta followed it up with a another slash at Rey's legs, which she again had to jump over.

"Good, keep jumping."

Rey managed to dodge the next three attacks but then she fell for a feint and Ahsoka caught her in the leg, sending a small, shocking burn, through her muscles as Rey was swept off her feet and slammed onto her back.

The fall wasn't hard enough to knock the wind out of her, but Rey still gasped.

"Come on, padawan," Ahsoka chirped. "Get back up."

Rey let out a small groan.

"You need to be able to bounce back up, like a spring," Ahsoka ordered as she brought her saber down.

Rey rolled out of the way, ending up on her back when she hit a tree trunk.

"Bounce back, Little Spring," Ahsoka taunted and Rey scowled.

She managed to bring her hands up to either side of her head, putting her fingertips on the ground as she rolled her weight onto her upper back, lifting her legs up before she launched upwards, her back and ab muscles spasming as she used them to flip onto her feet.

"Good, Springs," Ahsoka praised.

Rey narrowed her eyes, but didn’t have time to deliver a comeback as she was once again forced to dance out of the way of her master's attack.

She hit the ground two more times, her whole torso aching by the last time she flipped to her feet.

"Very good, Springs," Ahsoka said, as she deactivated her saber. "Now I can show you some katas."

Rey nodded, internalising her tired groan.

Ahsoka took her second saber back, showing her a few simple Jar'Kai katas that were already more complicated than any of the others Rey had learnt.

After the tenth time through the second one, Rey's arms started shaking.

"You're doing well," Ahsoka murmured as Rey moved into another iteration of the slow, precise sweeping motions. "Open yourself up to the Force, let its strength flow through you."

"I'm already listening to the Force," Rey grit out, not quite able to keep the frustration out of her voice as she got muddled and accidentally knocked her sabers together.

"Take a breath," Ahsoka reminded gently.

Rey paused in her movements, closing her eyes as she consciously thinned that barrier in her mind that kept her separate from the Force. She only usually dipped further when she was meditating, or when she was actively watching for shatterpoints.

Immediately the air around her felt charged.

"Good, now direct its flow. Let it fill your limbs and strengthen you. You already do this instinctively. Now concentrate on it."

It took a few seconds, but then Rey managed to welcome the energy in, the Force rushing through her body and adding a new buzz of energy to her body as it soothed some of her tired aches.

"Okay, now continue."

It was easier to do the katas from then, even easier than when she'd begun doing them, and Rey was able to complete the one she had been learning to Ahsoka's satisfaction as well as another one, before Ahsoka once again asked for her saber back.

"Now, do your Soresu Eye Kata."

Rey's shoulder slumped.

"Master…"

"You still need to train with a single blade as well, Springs. You don't want to become too reliant on your second blade and then not know what to do when you get disarmed."

Rey dropped her head, taking a moment to gather her strength and let the Force rejuvenate her.

"Okay, Soks," she said eventually.

Ahsoka raised her an eyebrow. "Soks?"

Rey shrugged. "You gave me a stupid nickname."

Ahsoka stared at her for a few seconds before she shrugged with a smirk.

"Do your kata, Springs."

Ahsoka made her go through the kata ten times before she finally let Rey rest.

Immediately, Rey sprawled onto the ground, her back leaning up against a log as she guzzled down a canteen of water that Kix had handed her. Ahsoka smirked down at her and strode off.

Rey was still panting when Boil sat down next to her, Kix settling down on a rock a few metres away from her.

"You did well," Boil complimented.

Rey managed to flash him a shaky smile before she went back to gulping down water.

"Slow down, Comma - er… I mean Rey," Kix chastised.

Rey did as he said, remembering how uncomfortable it was when you had too much water from the few times that Plutt let them have free access to the water reserves on Jakku.

"I must seem pretty pathetic, compared to what you remember of the Jedi," Rey murmured once she managed to completely stop.

Boil had worked under Obi-Wan and Kix under Skywalker, two of the most impressive Jedi from the Clone Wars.

"I remember what our Jedi were like," Boil replied. "You take instruction with a lot less complaining than Skywalker ever did, even when he was still a student."

"It's been a long time… but your determination reminds me a lot of Ahsoka," Kix agreed, and Rey perked up. "She's just as stubborn as you are."

Rey frowned. "I'm not stubborn."

Boil snorted and leaned back. "You might be able to hide it, but I can see it."

Rey huffed, trying to think of something to say back, but she didn't get a chance as all the three wolves, who had been lounging around their camp, shot to their feet, causing everyone to tense.

Everyone relaxed when it was Cara and her dad emerged from the tree line.

Rey lifted her head up from where she had been leaning it against a log.

Her buir looked down at her, crossing his arms.

"What happened to you?"

"Training with Ahsoka," Rey explained. "I think I'm dead."

"I think I need to step up our training," her dad remarked, "You've never been this tired after one of our sessions."

Rey couldn't quite hold back her groan.

Ezra walked over from where he had been meditating with her brother, Yedra balancing on his shoulder, whilst Ahsoka emerged from the stone building as they all came to gather around the small fire in the centre of their camp. Even the wolves paced closer, one planting itself at Ezra's feet, another sitting next to where Ahsoka had sat beside Kix and the last plopping itself between Boil and Rey.

Rey instinctively put a hand on its back and the wolf melted into her side.

"We heard a lot of things in the city," Cara began as her and Din settled to a stop in front of them, side by side.

Their dad nodded. "There are a lot of rumours."

"I imagine there would be," Ezra said. "This planet just had most of its children abducted in one night for the second time in a decade."

"It was more than just that," Din muttered. "They said that it was different than last time. There are rumours that sounded almost… magical."

Ahsoka crossed her arms. "You think they had Force Users with them?"

Cara shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't know how else to explain the stories of people choking mid-air and getting skewered by darkness."

Boil frowned. "They could be just that: stories. There was a lot of chaos that night."

Rey stomach churned and she didn't look up as she asked, "There was a Knight of Ren here?"

Ahsoka and Ezra looked towards her sharply.

"You know about them?" Ahsoka asked.

Rey shrugged. "Luke mentioned them a few times, but he didn't like talking about them."

Ezra huffed out a humourless laugh. "I'll bet."

Rey's buir crossed his arms. "They're Dark aren't they?"

"What does that mean?" Cara asked.

"In short terms, it means their bad," Boil explained.

"It's more complicated than that," he added placatingly when both Ezra and Ahsoka looked as if they might say something. "But the explanation involves a lot Force jargon."

Cara waved her hand. "It's okay. They're bad, and I can shoot them, that's all I need to know."

Ahsoka smirked at her but didn't comment.

"Is there anything else?" Ezra asked.

Before either of them could answer, the comm unit on Ezra's hip went off.

"This is AP-5," the protocol's voice floated over it. "We have a situation at the ships. Don't worry though, Chopper and HK-54 have subdued the would-be thieves. But you need to get over here, fast."

Everyone was on their feet before the transmission ended and Ahsoka glanced over all of them, locking gazes with Din.

"You, me, Kix, Ezra and the kids should go over there. Leave Cara and Boil o guard the camp?"

Din nodded. "Sounds good."

And then they were all moving, Rey rushing into the woods after her father, her master, and her brother's master.

When they got there, they found Chopper standing in front of a gaggle of cowering children whilst Achekay battled something. 

They all froze when the group came barrelling into the clearing. Even still, it took Rey a moment to process what she was seeing in front of her, and make sense out of the thing that looked like it had stepped straight out a nightmare.

If she looked to the centre, she saw the body of what her mind told her was a zabrak girl. However, protruding from her back was four metal limbs which tapered to razor sharp points, two of them holding her up so her flesh legs dangled above the ground, whilst the other two were poised to pierce through the droid's body.

The girl dropped to the ground as she saw them, weapons raised, though no sabers were ignited.

"Please help me," she gasped. "The Sith are after us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to probably make this into three fics actually. 
> 
> This one doesn't have too much longer. 
> 
> Mando'a
> 
> Riduur - spouse
> 
> Kara's - stars

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is reydjarinkenobi
> 
> Here is a link: https://reydjarinkenobi.tumblr.com/
> 
> If you want to send me asks with prompts or talk to me in my messages feel free to. Seriously, this is an open and enthusiastic invitation.


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